Molecules that selectively activate regulatory t cells for the treatment of autoimmune diseases

ABSTRACT

This invention provides for a fusion protein between an IL2αβγ Selective Agonist protein (IL2 Selective Agonist) and a IgG Fc protein using a linker. The IL2 Selective Agonist moiety provides a therapeutic activity by selectively activating the IL2αβγ form of the receptor, thus selectively stimulating Tregs. The Fc moiety provides a prolonged circulating half-life compared to the circulating half-life of IL-2 or an IL2SA protein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation U.S. application Ser. No. 15/696,811,filed Sep. 6, 2017, now allowed, which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/002,144, filed Jan. 20, 2016, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

SUBMISSION OF SEQUENCE LISTING

The Sequence Listing associated with this application is filed inelectronic format via EFS-Web and hereby incorporated by reference intothe specification in its entirety. The name of the text file containingthe Sequence Listing is 127754_00303_Sequence_Listing. The size of thetext file is 87 KB, and the text file was created on Feb. 5, 2019.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The immune system must be able to discriminate between self andnon-self. When self/non-self discrimination fails, the immune systemdestroys cells and tissues of the body and as a result causes autoimmunediseases. Regulatory T cells actively suppress activation of the immunesystem and prevent pathological self-reactivity and consequentautoimmune disease. Developing drugs and methods to selectively activateregulatory T cells for the treatment of autoimmune disease is thesubject of intense research and, until the development of the presentinvention, has been largely unsuccessful.

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a class of CD4+CD25+ T cells that suppressthe activity of other immune cells. Treg are central to immune systemhomeostasis, and play a major role in maintaining tolerance toself-antigens and in modulating the immune response to foreign antigens.Multiple autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including Type 1 Diabetes(T1D), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), and Graft-versus-Host Disease(GVHD) have been shown to have a deficiency of Treg cell numbers or Tregfunction. Consequently, there is great interest in the development oftherapies that boost the numbers and/or function of Treg cells.

One treatment approach for autoimmune diseases being investigated is thetransplantation of autologous, ex vivo-expanded Treg cells (Tang, Q., etal, 2013, Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Med., 3:1-15). While this approachhas shown promise in treating animal models of disease and in severalearly stage human clinical trials, it requires personalized treatmentwith the patient's own T cells, is invasive, and is technically complex.Another approach is treatment with low dose Interleukin-2 (IL-2). Tregcells characteristically express high constitutive levels of the highaffinity IL-2 receptor, IL2Rαβγ, which is composed of the subunits IL2RA(CD25), IL2RB (CD122), and IL2RG (CD132), and Treg cell growth has beenshown to be dependent on IL-2 (Malek, T. R., et al., 2010, Immunity,33:153-65). Clinical trials of low-dose IL-2 treatment of chronic GVHD(Koreth, J., et al., 2011, N Engl J Med., 365:2055-66) andHCV-associated autoimmune vasculitis patients (Saadoum, D., et al.,2011, N Engl J Med., 365:2067-77) have demonstrated increased Treglevels and signs of clinical efficacy. New clinical trials investigatingthe efficacy of IL-2 in multiple other autoimmune and inflammatorydiseases have been initiated.

Proleukin (marketed by Prometheus Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.), therecombinant form of IL-2 used in these trials, is associated with hightoxicity. Proleukin is approved for the treatment of Metastatic Melanomaand Metastatic Renal Cancer, but its side effects are so severe that itsuse is only recommended in a hospital setting with access to intensivecare (http://www.proleukin.com/assets/pdf/proleukin.pdf). Until the morerecent characterization of of Treg cells, IL-2 was considered to beimmune system stimulator, activating T cells and other immune cells toeliminate cancer cells. The clinical trials of IL-2 in autoimmunediseases have employed lower doses of IL-2 in order to target Tregcells, because Treg cells respond to lower concentrations of IL-2 thanmany other immune cell types because of their expression of IL2Rαβγ(Klatzmann D, 2015 Nat Rev Immunol. 15:283-94). However, even theselower doses resulted in safety and tolerability issues, and thetreatments used have employed daily subcutaneous injections, eitherchronically or in intermittent 5 day treatment courses. Therefore, thereis need for an autoimmune disease therapy that potentiates Treg cellnumbers and function, that targets Treg cells more specifically thanIL-2, that is safer and more tolerable, and that is administered lessfrequently.

One approach to improving the therapeutic index of IL-2-based therapy isto use variants of IL-2 that are selective for Treg cells relative toother immune cells. IL-2 receptors are expressed on a variety ofdifferent immune cell types, including T cells, NK cells, eosinophils,and monocytes, and this broad expression pattern likely contributes toits pleiotropic effect on the immune system and high systemic toxicity.The IL-2 receptor exists in three forms: (1) the low affinity receptor,IL2RA, which does not signal; (2) the intermediate affinity receptor(IL2Rβγ), composed of IL2RB and IL2RG, which is broadly expressed onconventional T cells (Tcons), NK cells, eosinophils, and monocytes; and(3) the high affinity receptor (IL2Rαβγ), composed of IL2RA, IL2RB, andIL2RG, which is expressed transiently on activated T cells andconstitutively on Treg cells. IL-2 variants have been developed that areselective for IL2Rαβγ relative to IL2Rβγ (Shanafelt, A. B., et al.,2000, Nat Biotechno1.18:1197-202; Cassell, D. J., et. al., 2002, CurrPharm Des., 8:2171-83). These variants have amino acid substitutionswhich reduce their affinity for IL2RB. Because IL-2 has undetectableaffinity for IL2RG, these variants consequently have reduced affinityfor the IL2Rβγ receptor complex and reduced ability to activateIL2Rβγ-expressing cells, but retain the ability to bind IL2RA and theability to bind and activate the IL2Rαβγ receptor complex. One of thesevariants, IL2/N88R (Bay 50-4798), was clinically tested as alow-toxicity version of IL-2 as an immune system stimulator, based onthe hypothesis that IL2Rβγ-expressing NK cells are a major contributorto toxicity. Bay 50-4798 was shown to selectively stimulate theproliferation of activated T cells relative to NK cells, and wasevaluated in phase I/II clinical trials in cancer patients (Margolin,K., et. al., 2007, Clin Cancer Res., 13:3312-9) and HIV patients (Davey,R. T., et. al., 2008, J Interferon Cytokine Res., 28:89-100). Thesetrials showed that Bay 50-4798 was considerably safer and more tolerablethan Proleukin, and also showed that it increased the levels of CD4+ Tcells and CD4+CD25+ T cells in patients. However, the increase in CD4+ Tcells and CD4+ CD25+ T cells were not indicative of an increase in Tregcells, because identification of Tregs requires additional markers inaddition to CD4 and CD25, and because Treg cells are a minor fraction ofCD4+CD25+ cells. Subsequent to these trials, research in the field morefully established the identity of Treg cells and demonstrated that Tregcells selectively express IL2Rαβγ (reviewed in Malek, T. R., et al.,2010, Immunity, 33:153-65). Based on this new research, it can now beunderstood that IL2Rαβγ selective agonists should be selective for Tregcells.

A second approach to improving the therapeutic index of an IL-2 basedtherapy is to optimize the pharmacokinetics of the molecule to maximallystimulate Treg cells. Early studies of IL-2 action demonstrated thatIL-2 stimulation of human T cell proliferation in vitro required aminimum of 5-6 hours exposure to effective concentrations of IL-2(Cantrell, D. A., et. al., 1984, Science, 224: 1312-1316). Whenadministered to human patients, IL-2 has a very short plasma half-lifeof 85 minutes for intravenous administration and 3.3 hours subcutaneousadministration (Kirchner, G. I., et al., 1998, Br J Clin Pharmacol.46:5-10). Because of its short half-life, maintaining circulating IL-2at or above the level necessary to stimulate T cell proliferation forthe necessary duration necessitates high doses that result in peak IL-2levels significantly above the EC50 for Treg cells or will requirefrequent administration (FIG. 1). These high IL-2 peak levels canactivate IL2Rβγ receptors and have other unintended or adverse effects.An IL-2 analog with a longer circulating half-life than IL-2 can achievea target drug concentration for a specified period of time at a lowerdose than IL-2, and with lower peak levels. Such an IL-2 analog willtherefore require either lower doses or less frequent administrationthan IL-2 to effectively stimulate Treg cells. Indeed, in cynomolgusmonkeys dosed with an IgG-IL2 fusion protein with a circulatinghalf-life of 14 hours stimulated a much more robust increase in Tregscompared to an equimolar dose of IL-2 (Bell, et al., 2015, J Autoimmun56:66-80). Less frequent subcutaneous administration of an IL-2 drugwill also be more tolerable for patients. A therapeutic with thesecharacteristics will translate clinically into improved pharmacologicalefficacy, reduced toxicity, and improved patient compliance withtherapy.

One approach to extending the half-life of therapeutic proteins is tofuse the therapeutically active portion of the molecule to anotherprotein, such as the Fc region of IgG, to increase the circulatinghalf-life. Fusion of therapeutic proteins with IgG Fc accomplishes thisby increasing the hydrodynamic radius of the protein, thus reducingrenal clearance, and through Neonatal Fc Receptor (FcRn)-mediatedrecycling of the fusion protein, thus prolonging the circulatinghalf-life. The fusion of therapeutic proteins to albumin (Sleep, D., et.al., 2013, Biochem Biophys Acta., 1830:5526-34) and nonimmunogenic aminoacid polymer proteins (Schlapschy, M., et. al., 2007, Protein Eng DesSel. 20:273-84; Schellenberger, V., et. al., 2009, Nat Biotechnol.27:1186-90) have also been employed to increase circulating half-life.However, construction of such fusion proteins in a manner that ensuresrobust biological activity of the IL2 Selective Agonist fusion partnercan be unpredictable, especially in the case of an IL-2 SelectiveAgonist, which is a small protein that is defective in binding to one ofthe receptor subunits and that must assemble a complex of three receptorsubunits in order to activate the receptor (Wang, X., et al., 2005,Science 310:1159-63).

Other researchers have created various IL-2 fusion proteins, usingwild-type IL-2 or IL-2 with a C125S substitution to promote stability.Morrison and colleagues (Penichet, M. L., et., al.,1997, Hum Antibodies.8:106-18) created a fusion protein with IgG fused to wild-type IL-2 toboth increase the circulating half-life of IL-2 and to target IL-2 tospecific antigens for the purpose of potentiating the immune response tothe antigen. This fusion protein consisted of an intact antibodymolecule, composed of heavy (H) and light (L) chains, wherein theN-terminal H chain moiety was fused to a C-terminal IL-2 protein moiety.This IgG-IL-2 fusion protein possessed Fc effector functions. Keyeffector functions of IgG Fc proteins are Complement-dependentcytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).The IgG-IL-2 fusion protein was highly active in an IL-2 bioassay andwas shown to possess CDC activity. Thus, Penichet et. al. taught the useof antibody-IL2 fusion proteins to target IL-2 activity to antigensrecognized by the antibody, for the purpose of potentiating humoral andcell-mediated immune responses to the antigen. In a similar manner,Gillies and colleagues have constructed a number of IgG-IL-2 fusionproteins for cancer immunotherapy, utilizing the antibody portion of thefusion protein to target tumor antigens, and the IL-2 portion tostimulate the immune response to tumor cells (reviewed in Sondel, P. M.,et. al., 2012, Antibodies, 1:149-71). These teachings are quite distinctfrom the present inventive technology, wherein an IL-2 selectiveagonist, which promotes the growth and activity of immunosuppressiveTreg cells, is fused with an effector function-deficient Fc proteinmoiety for the purpose increasing systemic exposure.

Strom and his colleagues have constructed fusion proteins with IL-2fused to the N terminus of an Fc protein for the purpose of eliminatingactivating T cells expressing the high-affinity IL-2 receptor (Zheng, X.X., et al., 1999, J Immunol. 1999, 163:4041-8). This fusion protein wasshown to inhibit the development of autoimmune diabetes in a T celltransfer mouse model of T1D. The IL2-Fc fusion protein was shown toinhibit the function of disease-promoting T cells from T1D-susceptiblefemale NOD mice when transplanted into less disease-susceptible male NODmice. They also demonstrated that the IL-2-Fc fusion protein could killcells expressing the high-affinity IL-2 receptor in vitro. Theseinvestigators further compared IL2-Fc fusion proteins constructed froman Fc derived from an effector function-competent IgG2b Fc and a mutatedeffector function-deficient IgG2b Fc. Only the IL2-Fc fusion proteincontaining the effector function-competent Fc was efficacious inpreventing disease onset. Thus, these investigators teach that an IL2-Fcfusion protein with effector functions can eliminate disease-causingactivated T cells, and that Fc effector functions are necessary for itstherapeutic activity. These teachings are quite distinct from thepresent inventive technology, wherein an IL-2 selective agonist, whichpromotes the growth and activity of immunosuppressive Treg cells, isfused with an effector function-deficient Fc protein moiety for thepurpose increasing systemic exposure and optimizing Treg expansion.Other work from Strom and colleagues teaches the use of a IL2-Fc fusionprotein in promoting transplant tolerance (Zheng, X. X., et al., 2003,Immunity, 19:503-14). In this work, an IL2-Fc fusion protein is used ina “triple therapy” in which it is combined with an IL15-Fc receptorantagonist and rapamycin. Again, these investigators teach that theIL2-Fc fusion protein must have Fc effector functions to be efficacious,and further teach that this IL-2-Fc fusion protein must be combined withtwo other molecules in order to be efficacious.

This invention provides for a novel therapeutic agent, an IL2 SelectiveAgonist-Fc fusion protein with a peptide linker of from 6-30 aminoacids. This configuration combines the high cellular selectivity of aIL2 Selective Agonist for Treg cells with a long circulating half-life.In the course of developing this molecule, there were surprising andunexpected findings that revealed structural elements and designfeatures of the protein that are essential for bioactivity, and that ledto the discovery of several novel proteins that fulfill the desiredtherapeutic characteristics.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides for a fusion protein between an IL2αβγ SelectiveAgonist protein (IL2 Selective Agonist) and a IgG Fc protein where theIL2 agonist and the Fc protein are separated by a linker of 17 Å to 105Å and configured so the IL2 agonist is at the N terminus of the moleculeand the Fc protein is at the C terminus. The IL2 Selective Agonistmoiety provides a therapeutic activity by selectively activating theIL2αβγ form of the receptor, thus selectively stimulating Tregs. The Fcmoiety provides a prolonged circulating half-life compared to thecirculating half-life of IL-2 or an IL2 Selective Agonist protein. TheFc moiety increases circulating half-life by increasing the molecularsize of the fusion protein to greater than 60,000 daltons, which is theapproximate cutoff for glomerular filtration of macromolecules by thekidney, and by recycling the fusion protein through the Neonatal FcReceptor (FcRn) protein, the receptor that binds and recycles IgG, thusprolonging its circulating half-life. The Fc moiety will also bedeficient in Fc effector functions, such as Complement-DependentCytotoxicity (CDC) and Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC),enabling the fusion protein to selectively activate Tregs to potentiateTreg function and to expand Treg numbers. The two protein moieties arefused in a manner that maintains robust bioactivity of the IL2 SelectiveAgonist moiety and enables the Fc moiety to promote a prolongedcirculating half-life and thus efficiently potentiate Tregs function andnumbers. This potentiation of Tregs will suppress over-exuberantautoimmune or inflammatory responses, and will be of benefit in treatingautoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The proteins of this invention maybe monomeric or dimeric forming dimers through cysteine residues in theFc moieties or domains.

More specifically, this invention provides for a fusion protein,comprising: a N-terminal human IL-2 variant protein moiety, and aC-terminal IgG Fc protein moiety, wherein said IL-2 fusion protein hasthe ability to selectively activate the high affinity IL-2 receptor andthus selectively activate human regulatory T cells. The variants of IL-2include those with substitutions selected from the group consisting of:N88R, N88G, D20H, Q126L, and Q126F relative to human IL2 protein. SEQ IDNO:1 is variant IL-2/N88R, with the numbering corresponding to wt IL2.In addition, the IL-2 variant protein optionally comprises human IL-2with the substitution C125S. It is preferred that the proteins of thisinvention are fused wherein both the IL-2 variant protein and the IgG Fcprotein have an N-terminus and a C-terminus and said human IL-2 variantprotein is fused at its C-terminus to the N-terminus of the IgG Fcprotein. It is further disclosed that the activity of the IL-2 variantdomain is greatly enhanced when a linker peptide positioned between theIL-2 variant protein and the IgG Fc protein moieties. The IgG Fc proteinmoiety or domain will optionally be deficient in Fc effector functionsor contain one or more amino acid substitutions that reduce the effectorfunctions of the Fc portion of the fusion protein.

An example of this invention is a protein, comprising: a IL-2 variantprotein having amino acid substitutions N88R and C125S relative to humanIL-2 (SEQ ID NO:1-N88R), a linker peptide as set forth in SEQ ID NO:15,and a human IgG1 Fc protein having the substitution N297A as set forthin SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said fusion protein has the ability toselectively activate the high affinity IL-2 receptor and thusselectively activate human regulatory T cells. Alternative proteins ofthis invention include: a IL-2 variant protein having amino acidsubstitutions N88R and C125S relative to human IL-2 (SEQ ID NO:1-N88R),a linker peptide as set forth in SEQ ID NO:15, and a human IgG2 Fcprotein as set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

A more specific embodiment of this invention is a dimeric protein,comprising two identical chains, where each chain comprises a N-terminalhuman IL-2 variant protein moiety and a C-terminal IgG Fc protein moietywherein: the N-terminal human IL-2 variant protein moiety has aN-terminus and a C-terminus varies from the human IL-2 wildtype as inSEQ ID NO:1 by at least one of the substitutions selected from the groupconsisting of: N88R, N88G, D20H, Q126L, and Q126F, has at least a 90 or95 or 97% sequence identity to Sequence ID No. 1; and, has the abilityto activate Treg cells by binding to a IL2Rαβγ on those cells; theN-terminal human IL-2 variant protein is joined at its C-terminal to aN-terminus of an amino acid linker of between 6 to 20 or 6 to 30 aminoacid residues where said linker also has a C-terminus; and, theC-terminus of the amino acid linker is joined to the N-terminus of IgGFc protein moiety having 90 or 95 or 97% sequence identity to forexample SEQ ID NO:3 (IgG2) or SEQ ID No. 2 (IgG1N297A) and containingcysteine residues; and where the two chains are linked to each otherthrough the cysteine residues that form the interchain disulfide bondsof the IgG Fc protein moiety. The dimers of this invention may befurther substituted at C125S of the IL-2 moiety. The proteins of thisinvention preferably include amino acid linkers consisting a group ofglycine residues, serine residues, and a mix of glycine and serineresidues. The linkers may comprise a mix of between 12 and 17 serine andglycine residues preferably with a ratio of glycine residues to serineresidues in a range of 3:1-5:1, e.g, a 4:1 ratio.

This invention further provides for the compositions above in apharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier.

This invention further provides for nucleic acids encoding the proteinsdescribed herein. The nucleic acids are preferably operably linked toexpression cassettes that can be either designed for recombination witha host cell genome or introduced on an independently replicating plasmidor extrachromosomal nucleic acid.

This invention further provides for methods of selectively activatinghuman regulatory T cells in a patient in need thereof, the methodcomprising administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising thecompositions described administered at therapeutically effective dosesuntil human regulatory T cell concentrations reach desired levels.

A method of measuring the numbers of Treg cells in a human blood sampleby contacting human blood cells with the fusion protein of claim 1 at aconcentration of between 1 nM and 0.01 nM, and then detecting cells thatbind to the protein by flow cytometry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the relationship betweencirculating half-life, peak drug level, the biological effectiveconcentration, and the duration necessary to stimulate Treg cellproliferation after a single dose of IL-2 or an IL2-Fc fusion proteinwith increased half-life. The dashed line represents the blood levelover time of IL-2 following a subcutaneous injection, and the solid linerepresents the blood level over time of an IL2-Fc fusion protein. Thehorizontal dotted lines indicate the concentrations (EC50 values)necessary to activate cells expressing IL2Rαβγ and IL2Rβγ, respectively)are indicated. The double-headed arrow indicates the duration ofexposure (5-6 hr) to IL-2 at the EC50 necessary to stimulate cellproliferation.

FIG. 2 shows the design configurations for Fc fusion proteins. Thefusion partner (X), can be fused at the N terminus (X-Fc) or theC-terminus (Fc-X) of the Fc protein. Linker peptides can be insertedbetween X and the Fc.

FIGS. 3A-3C show a dose-response of IL-2 and N88RL9AG1 stimulated STATSphosphorylation in CD4+ T cells as measured by flow cytometry. Cellswere treated with the IL-2 or N88RIL2-Fc at the concentrations indicatedon the top for 10 minutes at 37 C, fixed, permeabilized, stained withantibodies, and then subjected to flow cytometry analysis as describedin Example 3. Cells gated as CD4+are shown, and cells further gated withrespect to CD25 and pSTAT5 as shown in each of the 4 quadrants. Thenumbers in each quadrant indicate the percentage of CD4+ cells in eachgate. Cells in the upper quadrants represent the highest 1-2% of CD25expressing cells, a population enriched for Treg cells, and cells in theright-hand quadrants are pSTAT5+. FIG. 3A. N88RL9AG1 stimulates onlyCD25^(high) cells with high selectivity, while IL-2 massively stimulatesboth CD25^(−/low) and CD25^(high) cells down to picomolarconcentrations. FIG. 3B. D20HL0G2 has no pSTAT5 stimulating activity. NopSTAT5 activation was observed in two independent experiments. FIG. 3C.Control showing that D20H/IL2 stimulates pSTAT5 in CD25^(high) cellswhile D20HL0G2 does not. Plots are displayed in the pseudocolor mode.Both proteins were tested at a concentration of 10⁻⁸ M.

FIG. 4 shows that CD4+ T cells treated with N88RL9AG1 exhibitedstimulation of pSTAT5 levels in cells expressing high levels of FOXP3.Cells were treated with 4×10⁻⁹ M IL-2 or N88RL9AG1 and then analyzed asdescribed in Example 3. The majority of pSTAT5+cells treated withN88RL9AG1 were also FOXP3+, whereas pSTAT5+ cells treated with IL-2 wereboth FOXP3− and FOXP3+, with the majority being FOXP3−.

FIGS. 5A-5B show the protein yields of different Fc fusion constructsproduced in HEK293 cells. Proteins were expressed in parallel in anoptimized transient expression system and purified as described inExample 1. Results are expressed as the final yield of purified proteinfrom 30 ml cultures. FIG. 5A. Protein yields of N88R/IL2-Fc fusionproteins increase with increasing peptide linker length. FIG. 5B. Yieldsof wt IL2-Fc fusion proteins are only slightly enhanced with a 15residue peptide linker. Higher yields of D20H/IL2-Fc fusion proteinswere obtained in the X-Fc rather than the Fc-X configuration.

FIGS. 6A-6B show the dependence of IL-2 bioactivity on peptide linkerlength in N88R/IL2-Fc fusion proteins. (FIG. 6A) pSTAT5 signals inCD25^(high) CD4+ T cells (Tregs) increase with increasing peptide linkerlength. (FIG. 6B) No significant pSTAT5 signal with any of N88R/IL2-Fcproteins was observed in CD25^(−/low) cells. The pSTAT5 signal of the10⁻⁸ M IL-2 internal control is indicated in both panels by the blacktriangle.

FIG. 7 shows the bioactivity of D20H/IL2-Fc fusion proteins in humanTregs. The potency of D20HL15AG1 is substantially less than that ofN88RL15AG1, and D20HL15AG1 (X-Fc configuration) and AG1L15D20H (Fc-Xconfiguration) have similar potencies. All 3 proteins have a 15 residuepeptide linker.

FIGS. 8A-8B show the bioactivity of wt IL-2-Fc pSTAT5 activity with andwithout a 15 residue peptide linker. IL-2 bioactivity is only modestlyenhanced by a 15 residue peptide linker in both Tregs (FIG. 8A) and inCD25^(−/low) cells (FIG. 8B).

FIG. 9. Selectivity of IL-2 and IL-2 Selective Agonist proteins on 7different immune cell types in human PBMC. N88RL15AG1 is highlyselectivity for Tregs compared to wt IL-2 and WTL15AG1, and showsgreater selectivity in multiple cell types than N88R/IL2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Introduction

This invention is a novel therapeutic fusion protein that comprisesthree key protein elements: (1) an engineered IL-2 cytokine that hasbeen modified to be highly selective for

Treg cells, (2) an effector function deficient Fc protein that willincrease the circulating half-life of the protein, and (3) a peptidelinker between the two moieties that is necessary for high biologicalactivity of the fusion protein. The fusion proteins are configured suchthat the IL-2 domain is attached to the N-terminus of a linker peptidethrough the C-terminus of the IL-2 domain. The Fc domain being attachedthrough its N-terminus to the C-terminus of the linker. In prior studieswith and without short peptide linkers, it was reported that then-IL-2:c-Fc fused proteins lacked significant bioactivity. This lead toa focus on reverse configurations n-Fc:c-IL-2 where the Fc regions wereattached N-terminus of the linker and the IL-2 domains formed thecarboxy terminus of the fusion protein.

An Fc fusion protein with a bioactive fusion partner domain on theN-terminus of the Fc is a preferred configuration, because the bioactivedomain replaces the Fab portion of IgG. An Fc fusion protein with abioactive fusion partner domain on the C-terminus of the Fc is a lesspreferred configuration because the C-terminus of IgG Fc potentiallyimpaired in its ability to bind to other molecules, such as the Fcreceptor FcRn, which is required for the long circulating half-life ofFc proteins. IL2 fusion proteins fused to the C-terminus of Fc have beenreported to have much shorter circulating half-lives than would beexpected for an Fc fusion protein, suggesting that the function or thestability of the Fc is impaired. Accordingly, this invention with itslong peptide linker that is necessary for IL-2 bioactivity represents asignificant and unanticipated advance that went against teachings in theprior art of IL-2 fusion proteins. The molecules defined by thisinvention will enable the safe and effective treatment of autoimmunediseases by the novel mechanism of stimulating the production of a smallsubpopulation of T cells that suppress autoimmune and inflammatorypathology. This paradigm-breaking therapeutic is expected to treat anumber of different autoimmune diseases.

Definitions

“At least a percent (eg. 90 or 95 or 97%) sequence identify to SequenceID No. 1” as used herein refers to the extent to which the sequence oftwo or more nucleic acids or polypeptides is the same. The percentidentity between a sequence of interest and a second sequence over awindow of evaluation, e.g., over the length of the sequence of interest,may be computed by aligning the sequences, determining the number ofresidues (nucleotides or amino acids) within the window of evaluationthat are opposite an identical residue allowing the introduction of gapsto maximize identity, dividing by the total number of residues of thesequence of interest or the second sequence (whichever is greater) thatfall within the window, and multiplying by 100. When computing thenumber of identical residues needed to achieve a particular percentidentity, fractions are to be rounded to the nearest whole number.Percent identity can be calculated with the use of a variety of computerprograms. For example, computer programs such as BLAST2, BLASTN, BLASTP,Gapped BLAST, etc., generate alignments and provide percent identitybetween sequences of interest. The algorithm of Karlin and Altschul(Karlin and Altschul, Proc. Natl. Acad. ScL USA 87:22264-2268, 1990)modified as in Karlin and Altschul, Proc. Natl. Acad. ScL USA90:5873-5877, 1993 is incorporated into the NBLAST and XBLAST programsof Altschul et al. (Altschul, et al., J. MoI. Biol. 215:403-410, 1990).To obtain gapped alignments for comparison purposes, Gapped BLAST isutilized as described in Altschul et al. (Altschul, et al. Nucleic AcidsRes. 25: 3389-3402, 1997). When utilizing BLAST and Gapped BLASTprograms, the default parameters of the respective programs may be used.A PAM250 or BLOSUM62 matrix may be used. Software for performing BLASTanalyses is publicly available through the National Center forBiotechnology Information (NCBI). See the Web site having URL world-wideweb address of: “ncbi.nlm.nih.gov” for these programs. In a specificembodiment, percent identity is calculated using BLAST2 with defaultparameters as provided by the NCBI.

“N-terminus” refers to the end of a peptide or polypeptide that bears anamino group in contrast to the carboxyl end bearing a carboxyl acidgroup.

“C-terminus” refers to the end of a peptide or polypeptide that bears acarboxcylic acid group in contrast to the amino terminus bearing anamino group.

“C-terminal IgG Fc protein moiety” refers to a portion of a fusionprotein that derives from two identical protein fragments, each having ahinge region, a second constant domain, and a third constant domains ofthe IgG molecule's two heavy chains, and consisting of thecarboxy-terminal heavy chains disulphide bonded to each other throughthe hinge region. It is functionally defined as that part of the IgGmolecule that interacts with the complement protein C1q and the IgG-Fcreceptors (FcγR), mediating Complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) andantibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) effector functions. Thesequence can be modified to decrease effector functions, to increasecirculating half-life, and to eliminate glycoslylation sites.

IL2 Variants

IL-2 variant proteins of this invention are IL-2αβγ Selective Agonists.Functionally they selectively activate the IL2Rαβγ receptor complexrelative to the IL2Rβγ receptor complex. It is derived from a wild typeIL-2 protein structurally defined as having at least a 95% sequenceidentity to the wild type IL-2 of Sequence ID No. 1 and functionallydefined by the ability to preferentially activate Treg cells. Theprotein can also be functionally defined by its ability to selectivelyactivate IL-2 receptor signaling in Tregs, as measured by the levels ofphosphorylated STAT5 protein in Treg cells compared to CD4+CD25−/low Tcells or NK cells, or by the selective activation ofPhytohemagglutinin-stimulated T cells versus NK cells.

“N-terminal human IL-2 variant protein moiety” refers to a N-terminaldomain of a fusion protein that is derived from a wild type IL-2 proteinstructurally and functionally defines above.

“C-terminus” refers to the end of a peptide or polypeptide that bears acarboxcylic acid group in contrast to the amino terminus bearing anamino group.

Tregs

“Tregs” or “Treg cells” refer to Regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cellsare a class of T cells that suppress the activity of other immune cells,and are defined using flow cytometry by the cell marker phenotypeCD4+CD25+FOXP3+. Because FOXP3 is an intracellular protein and requirescell fixation and permeablization for staining, the cell surfacephenotype CD4+CD25+CD127− can be used for defining live Tregs. Tregsalso include various Treg subclasses, such as tTregs (thymus-derived)and pTregs (peripherally-derived, differentiated from naïve T cells inthe periphery). All Tregs express the IL2Rαβγ receptor, do not producetheir own IL-2 and are dependent on IL-2 for growth, and someone skilledin the art will recognize that both classes will be selectivelyactivated by a IL2Rαβγ selective agonist.

Peptide Linkers

“Peptide linker” is defined as an amino acid sequence located betweenthe two proteins comprising a fusion protein, such that the linkerpeptide sequence is not derived from either partner protein. Peptidelinkers are incorporated into fusion proteins as spacers in order topromote proper protein folding and stability of the component proteinmoieties, to improve protein expression, or to enable better bioactivityof the two fusion partners (Chen, et al., 2013, Adv Drug Deliv Rev.65(10):1357-69). Peptide linkers can be divided into the categories ofunstructured flexible peptides or rigid structured peptides.

Fc Fusion Proteins

An “Fc fusion protein” is a protein made by recombinant DNA technologyin which the translational reading frame of the Fc domain of a mammalianIgG protein is fused to that of another protein (“Fc fusion partner”) toproduce a novel single recombinant polypeptide. Fc fusion proteins aretypically produced as disulfide-linked dimers, joined together bydisulfide bonds located in the hinge region.

Functional Activation

“Bioactivity” refers to the measurement of biological activity in aquantitative cell-based in vitro assay.

“Functional activation of Treg cells” is defined an IL-2-mediatedresponse in

Tregs. Assay readouts for functional activation of Treg cells includesstimulation of pSTAT5, Treg cell proliferation, and stimulation of thelevels of Treg effector proteins.

Design and Construction

There are multiple options for the design and construction of an Fcfusion protein, and the choices among these design options are presentedbelow to permit the generation of a molecule with the desired biologicalactivity and pharmaceutical characteristics. Key design options are: (1)the nature of the IL2 Selective Agonist, (2) the choice of the Fcprotein moiety, (3) the configuration of fusion partners in the fusionprotein, and (4) the amino acid sequence at the junction between the Fcand the fusion partner protein.

General Methods

In general, preparation of the fusion proteins of the invention can beaccomplished by procedures disclosed herein and by recognizedrecombinant DNA techniques involving, e.g., polymerase chainamplification reactions (PCR), preparation of plasmid DNA, cleavage ofDNA with restriction enzymes, preparation of oligonucleotides, ligationof DNA, isolation of mRNA, introduction of the DNA into a suitable cell,transformation or transfection of a host, culturing of the host.Additionally, the fusion molecules can be isolated and purified usingchaotropic agents and well known electrophoretic, centrifugation andchromatographic methods. See generally, Sambrook et al., MolecularCloning: A Laboratory Manual (2nd ed. (1989); and Ausubel et al.,Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, New York(1989) for disclosure relating to these methods.

The genes encoding the fusion proteins of this invention involverestriction enzyme digestion and ligation as the basic steps employed toyield DNA encoding the desired fusions. The ends of the DNA fragment mayrequire modification prior to ligation, and this may be accomplished byfilling in overhangs, deleting terminal portions of the fragment(s) withnucleases (e.g., ExoIII), site directed mutagenesis, or by adding newbase pairs by PCR. Polylinkers and adaptors may be employed tofacilitate joining of selected fragments. The expression construct istypically assembled in stages employing rounds of restriction, ligation,and transformation of E. coli. Numerous cloning vectors suitable forconstruction of the expression construct are known in the art(lambda.ZAP and pBLUESCRIPT SK-1, Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif., pET,Novagen Inc., Madison, Wis.—cited in Ausubel et al., 1999) and theparticular choice is not critical to the invention. The selection ofcloning vector will be influenced by the gene transfer system selectedfor introduction of the expression construct into the host cell. At theend of each stage, the resulting construct may be analyzed byrestriction, DNA sequence, hybridization and PCR analyses.

Site-directed mutagenesis is typically used to introduce specificmutations into the genes encoding the fusion proteins of this inventionby methods known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication 2004/0171154; Storici et al., 2001, Nature Biotechnology 19:773-776; Kren et al., 1998, Nat. Med. 4: 285-290; and Calissano andMacino, 1996, Fungal Genet. Newslett. 43: 15-16. Any site-directedmutagenesis procedure can be used in the present invention. There aremany commercial kits available that can be used to prepare the variantsof this invention.

Various promoters (transcriptional initiation regulatory region) may beused according to the invention. The selection of the appropriatepromoter is dependent upon the proposed expression host. Promoters fromheterologous sources may be used as long as they are functional in thechosen host.

Various signal sequences may be used to facilitate expression of theproteins described herein. Signal sequence are selected or designed forefficient secretion and processing in the expression host may also beused. A signal sequence which is homologous to the TCR coding sequenceor the mouse IL-2 coding sequence may be used for mammalian cells. Othersuitable signal sequence/host cell pairs include the B. subtilis sacBsignal sequence for secretion in B. subtilis, and the Saccharomycescerevisiae α-mating factor or P. pastoris acid phosphatase phol signalsequences for P. pastoris secretion. The signal sequence may be joineddirectly through the sequence encoding the signal peptidase cleavagesite to the protein coding sequence, or through a short nucleotidebridge.

Elements for enhancing transcription and translation have beenidentified for eukaryotic protein expression systems. For example,positioning the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter 1000 bp oneither side of a heterologous promoter may elevate transcriptionallevels by 10- to 400-fold in plant cells. The expression constructshould also include the appropriate translational initiation sequences.Modification of the expression construct to include a Kozak consensussequence for proper translational initiation may increase the level oftranslation by 10 fold.

The expression cassettes are joined to appropriate vectors compatiblewith the host that is being employed. The vector must be able toaccommodate the DNA sequence coding for the fusion proteins to beexpressed. Suitable host cells include eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells,preferably those cells that can be easily transformed and exhibit rapidgrowth in culture medium. Specifically preferred hosts cells includeprokaryotes such as E. coli, Bacillus subtillus, etc. and eukaryotessuch as animal cells and yeast strains, e.g., S. cerevisiae. Mammaliancells are generally preferred, particularly HEK, J558, NSO, SP2-O orCHO. Other suitable hosts include, e.g., insect cells such as Sf9.Conventional culturing conditions are employed. See Sambrook, supra.Stable transformed or transfected cell lines can then be selected. Invitro transcription-translation systems can also be employed as anexpression system.

Nucleic acid encoding a desired fusion protein can be introduced into ahost cell by standard techniques for transfecting cells. The term“transfecting” or “transfection” is intended to encompass allconventional techniques for introducing nucleic acid into host cells,including calcium phosphate co-precipitation, DEAE-dextran-mediatedtransfection, lipofection, electroporation, microinjection, viraltransduction and/or integration. Suitable methods for transfecting hostcells can be found in Sambrook et al. supra, and other laboratorytextbooks.

Alternatively, one can use synthetic gene construction for all or partof the construction of the proteins described herein. This entails invitro synthesis of a designed polynucleotide molecule to encode apolypeptide molecule of interest. Gene synthesis can be performedutilizing a number of techniques, such as the multiplex microchip-basedtechnology described by Tian, et. al., (Tian, et. al., Nature432:1050-1054) and similar technologies wherein olgionucleotides aresynthesized and assembled upon photo-programmable microfluidic chips.

The fusion proteins of this invention are isolated from harvested hostcells or from the culture medium. Standard protein purificationtechniques are used to isolate the proteins of interest from the mediumor from the harvested cells. In particular, the purification techniquescan be used to express and purify a desired fusion protein on alarge-scale (i.e. in at least milligram quantities) from a variety ofapproaches including roller bottles, spinner flasks, tissue cultureplates, bioreactor, or a fermentor.

The IL2 Selective Agonist Moiety

IL-2 with the substitution N88R is an exemplary case of an IL2 SelectiveAgonist for the IL2Rαβγ receptor (Shanafelt, A. B., et al., 2000, NatBiotechno1.18:1197-202). IL2/N88R is deficient in binding to the IL2Rβreceptor subunit and the IL2Rβγ receptor complex, but is able to bind tothe IL2Rαβγ receptor complex and stimulate the proliferation ofIL2Rαβγ-expressing PHA-activated T cells as effectively as wt IL-2,while exhibiting a 3,000 fold reduced ability to stimulate theproliferation of IL2Rβγ-expressing NK cells, Other IL2Rαβγ selectiveagonists with similar activity profiles include IL-2 with thesubstitutions N88G, and D20H, and other IL2 variants with thesubstitutions Q126L and Q126F (contact residues with the IL2RG subunit)also possess IL2Rαβγ-selective agonist activity (Cassell, D. J., et.al., 2002, Curr Pharm Des., 8:2171-83). A practitioner skilled in theart would recognize that any of these IL2 Selective Agonist moleculescan be substituted for the IL2/N88R moiety with the expectation that anFc fusion protein will have similar activity. All of the aforementionedmutations can be made on the background of wt IL-2, or wt IL-2 with thesubstitution C125S, which is a substitution that promotes IL-2 stabilityby eliminating an unpaired cysteine residue. This invention can also beused with other mutations or truncations that improve production orstability without significantly impacting IL-2 receptor activatingactivity.

The variants of this invention optionally include conservativelysubstituted variants that apply to both amino acid and nucleic acidsequences. With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences,conservatively modified variants refer to those nucleic acids whichencode identical or essentially identical amino acid sequences, or wherethe nucleic acid does not encode an amino acid sequence, to essentiallyidentical sequences. Specifically, degenerate codon substitutions may beachieved by generating sequences in which the third position of one ormore selected (or all) codons is substituted with mixed base and/ordeoxyinosine residues (Batzer et al., Nucleic Acid Res. 19:5081 (1991);Ohtsuka et al., J. Biol. Chem. 260:2605-2608 (1985); Rossolini et al.,Mol. Cell. Probes 8:91-98 (1994)). Because of the degeneracy of thegenetic code, a large number of functionally identical nucleic acidsencode any given protein. For instance, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG and GCUall encode the amino acid alanine. Thus, at every position where analanine is specified by a codon, the codon can be altered to any of thecorresponding codons described without altering the encoded polypeptide.Such nucleic acid variations are silent variations, which are onespecies of conservatively modified variations. Every nucleic acidsequence herein which encodes a polypeptide also describes everypossible silent variation of the nucleic acid. One of skill willrecognize that each codon in a nucleic acid (except AUG, which isordinarily the only codon for methionine, and TGG, which is ordinarilythe only codon for tryptophan) can be modified to yield a functionallyidentical molecule. Accordingly, each silent variation of a nucleic acidwhich encodes a polypeptide is implicit in each described sequence.

With regard to conservative substitution of amino acid sequences, one ofskill will recognize that individual substitutions, deletions oradditions to a nucleic acid, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequencewhich alters, adds or deletes a single amino acid or a small percentageof amino acids in the encoded sequence is a conservatively modifiedvariant where the alteration results in the substitution of an aminoacid with a chemically similar amino acid. Conservative substitutiontables providing functionally similar amino acids are well known in theart. Such conservatively modified variants are in addition to and do notexclude polymorphic variants, interspecies homologs, and alleles of theinvention.

The following groups each contain amino acids that are conservativesubstitutions for one another:

1) Alanine (A), Glycine (G); 2) Serine (S), Threonine (T);

3) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E);

4) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q); 5) Cysteine (C), Methionine (M); 6)Arginine (R), Lysine (K), Histidine (H); 7) Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L),Valine (V); and 8) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W). TheFC Protein Moiety

A key design choice is the nature of the Fc protein moiety. The maintherapeutic applications of Fc fusion proteins are (1) endowing thefusion partner protein with immunoglobulin Fc effector functions; or (2)increasing the circulating half-life of the fusion partner protein(Czajkowsky, et al., 2012, EMBO Mol Med. 4:1015-28). The primaryeffector functions of IgG proteins are Complement-Dependent Cytotoxicity(CDC) and Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC), functionsmediated by Fc binding to complement protein C1q and to IgG-Fc receptors(FcγR), respectively. These effector functions are important when thetherapeutic protein is used to direct or enhance the immune response toa particular antigen target or cell. The fusion protein of thisinvention is designed solely to increase the circulating half-life ofthe IL2 Selective Agonist moiety, and effector functions are not neededand can even be toxic, and thus expressly not desired. For instance, anIL2 Selective Agonist-Fc fusion protein with an effectorfunction-competent Fc can potentially kill the Treg cells that thefusion protein of this invention is seeking to activate and expand,exactly the opposite of the therapeutic goal for autoimmune diseases.There are four human IgG subclasses which differ in effector functions(CDC, ADCC), circulating half-life, and stability (Salfeld, J. G., 2007,Nature Biotechnology 25:1369 -72). IgG1 possesses Fc effector functions,is the most abundant IgG subclass, and is the most commonly usedsubclass in US FDA-approved therapeutic proteins. IgG2 is deficient inFc effector functions, but is subject to dimerization with other IgG2molecules, and is also subject to instability due to scrambling ofdisulfide bonds in the hinge region. IgG3 possesses Fc effectorfunctions, and has an extremely long, rigid hinge region. IgG4 isdeficient in Fc effector functions, has a shorter circulating half-lifethan the other subclasses, and the IgG4 dimer is biochemically unstabledue to only a single disulfide bond in the hinge region leading to theexchange of H chains between different IgG4 molecules. A skilled artisanwould recognize that Fc protein moieties from IgG2 and IgG4 do notpossess effector functions and can be used in this invention. Theskilled artisan would also recognize that Fc sequence modifications havebeen described in the art that such that the hinge region of IgG2 Fc canbe modified to prevent aggregation, or that the hinge region of IgG4 Fccan be modified to stabilize dimers. Alternatively, effectorfunction-deficient variants of IgG1 have been generated. One suchvariant has an amino acid substitution at position N297, the location ofan N-linked glycosylation site. Substitution of this asparagine residueremoves the glycosylation site and significantly reduces ADCC and CDCactivity (Tao, M. H., et al., 1989, J Immunol. 143:2595-2601). Thisvariant is used as an exemplary case in the invention herein. Anothereffector function deficient IgG1 variant is IgG1(L234F/L235E/P331S/)(Oganesyan, et al., 2008, Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr.64:700-4), which mutates amino acids in the C1q and FcγR binding sites,and one skilled in the art would consider using these or similar Fcvariants to generate effector-deficient and stable IL2SA-Fc fusionproteins. A skilled artisan would also recognize that forms of Fcprotein moieties engineered to be stable monomers rather than dimers(Dumont, J. A., et., al., 2006, BioDrugs 20:151-60; Liu Z, et al., JBiol Chem. 2015 20;290:7535-62) can also be combined with the IL-2selective agonist of this invention. In addition, a skilled artisanwould recognize that a functionally monomeric heterodimer composed of anIL-2-Fc H chain polypeptide combined with an Fc H chain polypeptide andassembled using bispecific antibody technology (Zhu Z, et al., 1997Protein Sci. 6:781-8) can also be combined with the IL-2 SelectiveAgonist of this invention. Some IL-2 Fc fusion proteins have been madewith intact IgG antibody molecules, either with (Penichet, M. L., et.,al.,1997, Hum Antibodies. 8:106-18) or without (Bell, et al., 2015, JAutoimmun 56:66-80) antigen specificity in the IgG moiety. In addition,a skilled artisan will recognize that Fc variants that lack some or allof the hinge region can be used with this invention.

Fc fusion proteins can be made in two configurations, indicated here asX-Fc and Fc-X, where X, the fusion partner protein, is at the N-terminusand Fc is at the C-terminus, and Fc-X, where the Fc is at theN-terminus, and fusion partner protein is at the C-terminus (FIG. 2).There are examples in the literature showing that different fusionpartners can have distinct preferences for N- or C-terminal Fc fusions.For instance, FGF21 has been shown to have a strong preference for theFc-X configuration. Fc-FGF21 has receptor-activating bioactivityessentially the same as FGF21 itself, while FGF21-Fc has 1000-foldreduced bioactivity (Hecht, et al., 2012, PLoS One. 7(11):e49345). Anumber of IL-2 Fc fusion proteins have been made for variousapplications, and these have been reported to have good IL-2 bioactivitywhen directly fused to Fc in both the Fc-X (Gillies, et al., 1992, ProcNatl Acad Sci, 89:1428-32; Bell, et al., 2015, J Autoimmun 56:66-80) andX-Fc (Zheng, X. X., et al., 1999, J Immunol. 163:4041-8) configurations.Gavin, et al. (US 20140286898 A1) describes Fc fusion proteinscontaining IL-2 and certain IL-2 variants in the in the Fc-Xconfiguration that have bioactivity similar to that of the free IL-2cytokine, but in contrast to the results of Zheng et al. (Zheng, X. X.,et al., 1999, J Immunol. 1999, 163:4041-8) found that IL-2 variantfusion proteins in the X-Fc configuration have reduced or nobioactivity. Thus, Gavin, et al. generally teaches away from N-terminalIL-2 Fc fusion proteins. Another factor that influences the choice offusion protein configuration is the impact on circulating half-life. Arecurring finding in the literature is that IL-2 fusion proteins in theFc-X configuration have relatively low circulating half-lives, much lessthan the 21 day half-life of human IgG1 in humans or the half-lives ofcurrent FDA-approved Fc fusion proteins (TABLE I). IgG-IL2 fusionproteins in the Fc-X configuration have been reported to have relativelyshort circulating half-lives on the order of hours in mice (Gillies S.D., 2002 Clin Cancer Res., 8:210-6; Gillies, S. D., US 2007/0036752 A2;Bell C. J., 2015 J Autoimmun 56:66-80) and on the order of 3.3 hours(Ribas A., J 2009 Transl Med. 7:68) and 3.7 hours (King D. M., 2004 JClin Oncol., 22:4463-73) in humans, and Fc-IL2 fusion proteins have beenreported to have circulating half-lives of 12.5 hours in mice (Zhu E.F., Cancer Cell. 2015, 13;27(4):489-501). Proteolysis between theC-terminus of the Fc moiety and the IL-2 moiety contributes to the shortcirculating half-lives (Gillies S. D., 2002 Clin Cancer Res., 8:210-6;Zhu E. F., 2015 Cancer Cell. 27:489-501). Because of these relativelyshort half-lives, we have focused on IL2 Selective Agonist Fc fusionproteins in the X-Fc configuration. The findings in this work indicatethat an IL2-Fc fusion protein containing the IgG1(N297A) substitutionhas high bioactivity and is an especially preferred species of thisinvention. A variant of the IgG1 Fc fusion protein that eliminates theO-linked carbohydrate is also an especially preferred species, since itis highly bioactive and provides advantages for the manufacturing of apure and homogeneous drug product. The findings in this patent furtherindicate that IL2-Fc fusion proteins with the effectorfunction-deficient IgG1 variant and the IgG4 Fc, while slightly lessactive, are also preferred species. Fusion with IgG2 and Serum Albumin(HSA) have lower bioactivity, and are less preferred species, althoughthey may be suitable for therapeutic use if they possess other positiveattributes.

Linker

The amino acid sequence at the junction between the Fc and the fusionpartner protein can be either (1) a direct fusion of the two proteinsequences or (2) a fusion with an intervening linker peptide. Of the 10Fc fusion proteins that are presently approved by the US FDA forclinical use (TABLE I), 8 are direct fusions of the fusion partnerprotein with Fc, while 2 possess linker peptides, so many Fc fusionproteins can be functional without linker peptides. Linker peptides areincluded as spacers between the two protein moieties. Linker peptidescan promote proper protein folding and stability of the componentprotein moieties, improve protein expression, and enable betterbioactivity of the component protein moieties (Chen, et al., 2013, AdvDrug Deliv Rev. 65:1357-69). Peptide linkers used in many fusionproteins are designed to be unstructured flexible peptides. A study ofthe length, sequence, and conformation of linkers peptides betweenindependent structural domains in natural proteins has provided atheoretical basis for the design of flexible peptide linkers (Argos,1990, J Mol Biol. 211:943-58). Argos provided the guidance that longflexible linker peptides be composed of small nonpolar residues likeGlycine and small polar resides like Serine and Threonine, with multipleGlycine residues enabling a highly flexible conformation and Serine orThreonine providing polar surface area to limit hydrophobic interactionwithin the peptide or with the component fusion protein moieties. Manypeptide linkers described in the literature are rich in glycine andserine, such as repeats of the sequence GGGGS, although an artisanskilled in the art will recognize that other sequences following thegeneral recommendations of Argos (Argos, 1990, J Mol Biol.20;211(4):943-58) can also be used. For instance, one of the proteinsdescribed herein is contains a linker peptide composed of Glycine andAlanine (SEQ ID NO 15). A flexible linker peptide with a fully extendedbeta-strand conformation will have an end-to-end length of approximately3.5 Å per residue. Thus, a linker peptide of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30residues will have a maximum fully extended length of 17.5 Å, 35 Å, 52.5Å, 70 Å, 87.5 Å, or 105 Å respectively. The maximal end-to-end length ofthe peptide linker can also be a guide for defining the characteristicsof a peptide linker in this invention.

Skilled artisans will also recognize that nonpeptide flexible chemicallinkers may also substitute for a polypeptide linker of the indicatedlengths above, eg. 17.5 Å, 35 Å, 52.5 Å, 70 Å, 87.5 Å, or 105 Å. Thegoal of a linker peptide within the current invention is to enableattainment of an appropriate conformation and orientation of theindividual fusion protein moieties to allow the engagement of the IL-2Selective Agonist moiety with its cognate receptor and allow the bindingof the Fc moiety to the FcRn to enable fusion protein recycling and aprolonged circulating half-life. Many Fc fusion proteins do not requirelinker peptides, as evidenced by the 8 out of 10 US FDA-approved Fcfusion proteins lacking such peptides listed in Table I. In contrast,Dulaglutide, a fusion of GLP-1 and Fc, contains a 15 residue peptidelinker which has a strong influence on bioactivity (Glaesner, U.S. Pat.No. 7,452,966 B2). Prior work in the art on IL-2-Fc fusion proteinsindicates that linker peptides are not necessary for bioactivity. IL-2fusion proteins containing wt IL-2 or IL-2 with the substitution C125Sin the Fc-X orientation have been reported to have IL-2 bioactivitysimilar to that of the free IL-2 cytokine without (Gillies, et al.,1992, Proc Natl Acad Sci, 89:1428-32; Gavin, et al., US PatentApplication 20140286898 A1) or with (Bell, et al., 2015, J Autoimmun56:66-80) peptide linkers. In the X-Fc orientation, Zheng et al.reported IL-2 bioactivity of an IL-2 fusion protein in the X-Fcconfiguration that was essentially indistinguishable from that of IL-2itself (Zheng, X. X., et al., 1999, J Immunol. 1999, 163:4041-8). Thisextensive prior art teaches that fusion of an IL-2 protein with Fc willnot require a linker peptide in order to have high IL-2 bioactivity.However, Gavin et al. reported that Fc fusion proteins in the X-Fcconfiguration containing certain IL-2 variants with altered receptorselectivity have reduced or no bioactivity either without a peptidelinker or with a 5 residue peptide linker (Gavin, et al., US PatentApplication 20140286898 A1). The work reported in this patentdemonstrates that a peptide linker of at least 6 and preferably at least9 amino acids are necessary for robust IL-2 bioactivity on Tregs, andfurther shows that the improvement in bioactivity reaches a plateau at15 amino acids, and is maintained with linkers up to 30 amino acids inlength.

Bioassays

Robust and quantitative bioassays are necessary for the characterizationof the biological activity of candidate proteins. These assays shouldmeasure the activation of the IL2 receptor, measure the downstreamfunctional consequences of activation in Tregs, and measuretherapeutically-relevant outcomes and functions of the activated Tregs.These assays can be used the measure the therapeutic activity andpotency of IL2 Selective Agonist molecules, and can also be used formeasurement of the pharmacodynamics of an IL2 Selective Agonist inanimals or in humans. One assay measures the phosphorylation of thesignal transduction protein STAT5, measured flow cytometry with anantibody specific for the phosphorylated protein (pSTAT5).Phosphorylation of STAT5 is an essential step in the IL-2 signaltransduction pathway. STAT5 is essential for Treg development, and aconstitutively activated form of STAT5 expressed in CD4+CD25+ cells issufficient for the production of Treg cells in the absence of IL-2(Mahmud, S. A., et al., 2013, JAKSTAT 2:e23154). Therefore, measurementof phosphorylated STAT5 (pSTAT5) in Treg cells will be recognized bysomeone skilled in the art as reflective of IL-2 activation in thesecells, and will be predictive of other biological outcomes of IL-2treatment given appropriate exposure time and conditions. Another assayfor functional activation measures IL-2-stimulated proliferation of Tregcells. Someone skilled in the art will recognize that Treg proliferationcan be measured by tritiated thymidine incorporation into purified Tregcells, by an increase in Treg cell numbers in a mixed population ofcells measured by flow cytometry and the frequencies of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+or the CD4+CD25+CD127− marker phenotypes, by increased expression inTreg cells of proliferation-associated cell cycle proteins, such asKi-67, or by measurement of the cell division-associated dilution of avital fluorescent dye such as carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester(CFSE) by flow cytometry in Treg cells. Another assay for functionalactivation of Tregs with IL-2 is the increased stability of Tregs. pTregcells are thought by some to be unstable, and have the potential todifferentiate into Th1 and Th17 effector T cells. IL-2 activation ofTregs can stabilize Tregs and prevent this differentiation (Chen, Q., etal., 2011, J Immunol. 186:6329-37). Another outcome of IL-2 stimulationof Tregs is the stimulation of the level of Treg functional effectormolecules, such as CTLA4, GITR, LAG3, TIGIT, IL-10, CD39, and CD73,which contribute to the immunosuppressive activity of Tregs.

To develop an IL2 Selective Agonist Fc protein, we initially focused onproteins in the X-Fc configuration because of the short circulatinghalf-lives that have been reported for IL-2 fusion proteins in the Fc-Xconfiguration. The first two proteins produced and tested, one with andone without a linker peptide, unexpectedly showed that the protein withthe peptide linker had IL-2 bioactivity and that the protein without thepeptide linker had no detectable bioactivity. Both proteins exhibitedhigh binding affinity for IL2RA, indicating that both proteins wereproperly folded. These results suggested that a linker peptide wasnecessary for IL-2 receptor activation and bioactivity. A series ofadditional analogs was then produced to eliminate other variables and totest this hypothesis. The results from these studies led to thediscovery of key structure-activity relationships for this therapeuticprotein and created novel molecules with the desired activity andpharmaceutical attributes.

The following table provides a list of the preferred species.

Name Linker Fusion partner N88RL10AG1 10 amino acids IgG1 (N297A) FcN88RL15AG1 15 amino acids IgG1 (N297A) Fc N88RL20AG1 20 amino acids IgG1(N297A) Fc N88RL25AG1 25 amino acids IgG1 (N297A) Fc N88RL30AG1 30 aminoacids IgG1 (N297A) Fc N88RL15G1ED 15 amino acids IgG1(E233P/L234A/L235A/ G236del) N88RL15G2 15 amino acids IgG2 FcN88RL15G4(S228P) 15 amino acids IgG4 Fc N88RT3AL15AG1 15 amino acidsIgG1 (N297A) Fc N88RL15HSA 15 amino acids HSA (C-terminal) HSAL15N88R 15amino acids HSA (N-terminal) N88GL15AG1 15 amino acids IgG1 (N297A) FcD20HL15AG1 15 amino acids IgG1 (N297A) Fc Q126LL15AG1 15 amino acidsIgG1 (N297A) Fc Q126FL15AG1 15 amino acids IgG1 (N297A) Fc

FORMULATION

Pharmaceutical compositions of the fusion proteins of the presentinvention are defined as formulated for parenteral (particularlyintravenous or subcutaneous) delivery according to conventional methods.In general, pharmaceutical formulations will include fusion proteins ofthe present invention in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptablevehicle, such as saline, buffered saline, 5% dextrose in water, or thelike. Formulations may further include one or more excipients,preservatives, solubilizers, buffering agents, albumin to preventprotein loss on vial surfaces, etc. Methods of formulation are wellknown in the art and are disclosed, for example, in Remington: TheScience and Practice of Pharmacy, Gennaro, ed., Mack Publishing Co.,Easton, Pa., 19.sup.th ed., 1995.

As an illustration, pharmaceutical formulations may be supplied as a kitcomprising a container that comprises fusion proteins of the presentinvention. Therapeutic proteins can be provided in the form of aninjectable solution for single or multiple doses, as a sterile powderthat will be reconstituted before injection, or as a prefilled syringe.Such a kit may further comprise written information on indications andusage of the pharmaceutical composition. Moreover, such information mayinclude a statement that the fusion proteins of the present invention iscontraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to fusionproteins of the present invention.

The IL-2 selective agonist fusion proteins of this invention can beincorporated into compositions, including pharmaceutical compositions.Such compositions typically include the protein and a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier. As used herein, the term “pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier” includes, but is not limited to, saline, solvents,dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents,isotonic and absorption delaying agents, and the like, compatible withpharmaceutical administration. Supplementary active compounds (e.g.,antibiotics) can also be incorporated into the compositions.

A pharmaceutical composition is formulated to be compatible with itsintended route of administration. The IL-2 selective agonist fusionproteins of the invention is likely that to be administered through aparenteral route. Examples of parenteral routes of administrationinclude, for example, intravenous, intradermal, and subcutaneous.Solutions or suspensions used for parenteral application can include thefollowing components: a sterile diluent such as water for injection,saline solution, polyethylene glycols, glycerine, propylene glycol orother synthetic solvents; antibacterial agents such as benzyl alcohol ormethyl parabens; antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or sodium bisulfate;chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; buffers suchas acetates, citrates or phosphates and agents for the adjustment oftonicity such as sodium chloride or dextrose. pH can be adjusted withacids or bases, such as mono- and/or di-basic sodium phosphate,hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide (e.g., to a pH of about 7.2-7.8,e.g., 7.5). The parenteral preparation can be enclosed in ampoules,disposable syringes or multiple dose vials made of glass or plastic.

Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for injectable use include sterileaqueous solutions or dispersions and sterile powders for theextemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions ordispersion. For intravenous administration, suitable carriers includephysiological saline, bacteriostatic water, or phosphate buffered saline(PBS). In all cases, the composition should be sterile and should befluid to the extent that easy syringability exists. It should be stableunder the conditions of manufacture and storage and must be preservedagainst the contaminating action of microorganisms such as bacteria andfungi. The carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium containing, forexample, water, ethanol, polyol (for example, glycerol, propyleneglycol, and liquid polyethylene glycol, and the like), and suitablemixtures thereof. The maintenance of the required particle size in thecase of dispersion may be facilitated by the use of surfactants, e.g.,Polysorbate or Tween. Prevention of the action of microorganisms can beachieved by various antibacterial and antifungal agents, for example,parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol, ascorbic acid, thimerosal, and thelike. In many cases, it will be preferable to include isotonic agents,for example, sugars, polyalcohols such as mannitol, sorbitol, sodiumchloride in the composition.

Sterile injectable solutions can be prepared by incorporating the activecompound in the required amount in an appropriate solvent with one or acombination of ingredients enumerated above, as required, followed byfiltered sterilization. Generally, dispersions are prepared byincorporating the active compound into a sterile vehicle, which containsa basic dispersion medium and the required other ingredients from thoseenumerated above. In the case of sterile powders for the preparation ofsterile injectable solutions, the preferred methods of preparation arevacuum drying and freeze-drying which yields a powder of the activeingredient plus any additional desired ingredient from a previouslysterile-filtered solution thereof.

In one embodiment, the IL-2 selective agonist fusion protein is preparedwith carriers that will protect the IL-2 selective agonist fusionprotein against rapid elimination from the body, such as a controlledrelease formulation, including implants and microencapsulated deliverysystems. Biodegradable, biocompatible polymers can be used, such asethylene vinyl acetate, polyanhydrides, polyglycolic acid, collagen,polyorthoesters, and polylactic acid. Such formulations can be preparedusing standard techniques.

The pharmaceutical compositions can be included in a container, pack, ordispenser together with instructions for administration.

Administration

Fusion proteins of the present invention will preferably be administeredby the parenteral route. The subcutaneous route is the preferred route,but intravenous, intramuscular, and subdermal administration can also beused. For subcutaneous or intramuscular routes, depots and depotformulations can be used. For certain diseases specialized routes ofadministration can be used. For instance, for inflammatory eye diseasesintraocular injection can be used. Fusion proteins can be used in aconcentration of about 0.1 to 10 mcg/ml of total volume, althoughconcentrations in the range of 0.01 mcg/ml to 100 mcg/ml may be used.

Determination of dose is within the level of ordinary skill in the art.Dosing is daily or weekly over the period of treatment, or may be atanother intermittent frequency. Intravenous administration will be bybolus injection or infusion over a typical period of one to severalhours. Sustained release formulations can also be employed. In general,a therapeutically effective amount of fusion proteins of the presentinvention is an amount sufficient to produce a clinically significantchange in the treated condition, such as a clinically significant changein circulating Treg cells, a clinically significant change in Treg cellspresent within a diseased tissue, or a clinically significant change ina disease symptom.

The data obtained from the cell culture assays and animal studies can beused in formulating a range of dosage for use in humans. The dosage ofsuch compounds lies preferably within a range of circulatingconcentrations that include the half maximal effective concentration(EC50; i.e., the concentration of the test compound which achieves ahalf-maximal stimulation of Treg cells) with little or no toxicity. Thedosage may vary within this range depending upon the dosage formemployed and the route of administration utilized. For any compound usedin the method of the invention, the therapeutically effective dose canbe estimated initially from cell culture assays. A dose may beformulated in animal models to achieve a circulating plasmaconcentration range that includes the EC50 as determined in cellculture. Such information can be used to more accurately determineuseful doses in humans. Levels in plasma may be measured, for example,by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

As defined herein, a therapeutically effective amount of a IL-2selective agonist fusion protein (i.e., an effective dosage) depends onthe polypeptide selected and the dose frequency. For instance, singledose amounts in the range of approximately 0.001 to 0.1 mg/kg of patientbody weight can be administered; in some embodiments, about 0.005, 0.01,0.05 mg/kg may be administered. The compositions can be administeredfrom one time per day to one or more times per week, or one or moretimes per month; including once every other day. The skilled artisanwill appreciate that certain factors may influence the dosage and timingrequired to effectively treat a subject, including but not limited tothe severity of the disease or disorder, previous treatments, thegeneral health and/or age of the subject, the level of Treg cellspresent in the patient, and other diseases present. Moreover, treatmentof a subject with a therapeutically effective amount of the IL-2selective agonist fusion protein of the invention is likely to be aseries of treatments.

Autoimmune Diseases

Some of the diseases that can benefit from the therapy of this inventionhave been noted. However, the role of Treg cells in autoimmune diseasesis a very active area of research, and additional diseases will likelybe identified as treatable by this invention. Autoimmune diseases aredefined as human diseases in which the immune system attacks its ownproteins, cells, and tissues. A comprehensive listing and review ofautoimmune diseases can be found in The Autoimmune Diseases (Rose andMackay, 2014, Academic Press). Diseases for which there is evidence fora benefit from Treg augmentation includes Graft-vs-Host Disease,Pemphigus Vulgaris, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Scleroderma,Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease, Psoriasis, Type 1 Diabetes,Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alopecia Areata,Uveitis, Neuromyelitis Optica, and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Other Fusion Proteins

Because the purpose of the Fc protein moiety in this invention is solelyto increase circulating half-life, one skilled in the art will recognizethat the IL-2 selective agonist moiety could be fused to the N-terminusof other proteins to achieve the same goal of increasing molecular sizeand reducing the rate of renal clearance, using the structure-activityrelationships discovered in this invention. The IL2 selective agonistcould be fused to the N-terminus of serum albumin (Sleep, D., et al.,2013, Biochim Biophys Acta.1830:5526-34), which both increases thehydrodynamic radius of the fusion protein relative to the IL-2 moietyand is also recycled by the FcRN. A skilled artisan would also recognizethat the IL2 selective agonist moiety of this invention could also befused to the N-terminus of recombinant non-immunogenic amino acidpolymers. Two examples of non-immunogenic amino acid polymers developedfor this purpose are XTEN polymers, chains of A, E, G, P, S, and T aminoacids (Schellenberger, V., et. al., 2009, Nat Biotechnol. 27:1186-90)),and PAS polymers, chains of P, A, and S amino acid residues (Schlapschy,M., et. al., 2007, Protein Eng Des Sel. 20:273-84).

All publications and patent applications cited in this specification areherein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication orpatent application were specifically and individually indicated to beincorporated by reference.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity ofunderstanding, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art in light of the teachings of this invention that certain changesand modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spiritor scope of the appended claims.

EXAMPLES

The following examples are provided by way of illustration only and notby way of limitation. Those of skill will readily recognize a variety ofnoncritical parameters which could be changed or modified to yieldessentially similar results.

Example 1. Cloning, Expression, and Purification of IL-2 SelectiveAgonist-IgG Fc Fusion Proteins

A cDNA encoding N88RL9AG1 (SEQ ID NO 4) was constructed by DNA synthesisand PCR assembly. The N88RL9AG1 construct was composed of the mouse IgG1signal sequence, the mature human IL-2 (SEQ ID NO 1) sequence with thesubstitutions N88R and C125S, a 9 amino acid linker peptide sequence(SEQ ID NO 15), and the Fc region of human IgG1 containing thesubstitution N297A (SEQ ID NO 2). N88R/IL2 is an IL2 selective agonistwith reduced binding to IL2RB and selective agonist activity on IL2Rαβγreceptor-expressing cells (Shanafelt, A. B., et al., 2000, NatBiotechno1.18:1197-202). Elimination of the N-linked glycosylation siteat N297 on IgG1 Fc reduces Fc effector functions (Tao, M. H., et al.,1989, J Immunol. 143:2595-2601). D20HL0G2 was composed of the mouse IgG1signal sequence, IL-2 (SEQ ID NO 1) with the substitutions D20H andC125S, and an Fc protein moiety derived from human IgG2 (SEQ ID NO 3).The D20H IL-2 variant has been reported to possess selective agonistactivity similar to N88R (Cassell, D. J., et. al., 2002, Curr PharmDes., 8:2171-83).

These cDNAs were cloned into pcDNA3.1(+) (Life Technologies, Carlsbad,Calif.) using the restriction sites HindIII and NotI. Purifiedexpression vector plasmid containing the construct was transientlytransfected into HEK293 cells. HEK293 cells were seeded into a shakeflask 24 hours before transfection, and were grown using serum-freechemically defined media. The DNA expression constructs were transientlytransfected into 0.1 liter of suspension HEK293 cells. After 24 hours,cells were counted to obtain the viability and viable cell count. Thecultures were harvested at day 5 and the conditioned media supernatantwas clarified by centrifugation at 3000× g for 15 minutes. The proteinwas purified by running the supernatant over a Protein A column (GEHealthcare), eluting with 0.25% acetic acid (pH 3.5), neutralizing theeluted protein with 1 M Tris (pH 8.0), and dialyzing against 30 mMHEPES, pH 7, 150 mM NaCl. The samples were then sterile filtered througha 0.2 μm membrane filter and analyzed by SDS PAGE under reducing andnonreducing conditions. The proteins migrated as a disulfide-linkeddimer. Protein concentration determined by absorbance using thecalculated extinction coefficient of 1.11 mg/ml cm⁻¹, and aliquotsstored at −80C.

The cytokines N88R/IL2 and D20H/IL2 are variants of SEQ ID NO 1 and wereproduced in E coli essentially as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,807B1, except for the addition of the additional mutation C125S forimproved stability.

Example 2. Determination of Receptor-Binding Activity of N88RL9AG1 andD20HL0G2.

To determine if N88RL9AG1 and D20HL0G2 were properly folded, theiraffinity to the IL-2 receptor subunits IL2RA and IL2RB was determined bysurface plasmon resonance (SPR) using a Biacore T-200 instrument (GEHealthcare). IL2RA and IL2RB extracellular domain proteins and IL-2protein (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, Minn.) were immobilized on CM-5Biacore chips by NHS/EDC coupling to final RU (resonance units) valuesof 30 and 484, respectively. The kinetics of binding to IL2RA wasmeasured at five concentrations of IL2 and N88RL9AG1 ranging from 0.6 nMto 45 nM at a flow rate of 50 ul/minute. The kinetics of binding toIL2RB was measured at five concentrations ranging from 16.7 nM to 450 nMfor IL2 and from 14 nM to 372 nM for the Fc fusion proteins at a flowrate of 10 ul/minute. The dissociation constants (Kd) were calculatedfrom the kinetic constants using the Biacore evaluation software version2.0, assuming 1:1 fit for IL-2 and the bivalent fit for N88RL9AG1 andD20HL0G2. Equilibrium Kd values were calculated by the Biacoreevaluation software using steady-state binding values.

Binding to IL2RA was detected for both IL-2 and N88RL9AG1. The Rmaxvalue for N88RL9AG1, 14.43, was 5.5 fold higher than that of IL2, 2.62,consistent with the fact that N88RL9AG1 (82,916 g/M) has a greatermolecular weight than IL-2 (15,444 g/M). The kon, koff, and Kd valuesfor IL-2 were in the range expected from published SPR values (TableII). The affinity of N88RL9AG1 was approximately 2-fold greater thanthat of IL2 as determined by both the kinetic and equilibrium methods.Binding of IL2 to IL2RB was detected with an Rmax of 6.19. The valuesdetermined for kon, koff, and Kd are within the range reported in theliterature. Reported values are 3.1×10⁻⁸ M (IL2RA) and 5.0×10⁻⁷M (IL2RB)(Myszka, D. G., et al., 1996, Protein Sci. 5:2468-78); 5.4×10⁻⁸ M(IL2RA) and 4.5×10⁻⁷ (IL2RB) (Shanafelt, A. B., et al., 2000, NatBiotechno1.18:1197-202); and 6.6 X 10⁻⁹ M (IL2RA) and 2.8×10⁻⁷ M (IL2RB)(Ring, A. M., et al., 2012, Nat Immunol. 13:1187-95). Essentially nobinding of N88RL9AG1 to IL2RB was detected, with a slight bindingdetected at the highest concentration tested (Rmax=0.06), far below thatexpected based on the molecular weight difference between IL2 andN88RL9AG1 and based on the IL2RA binding results. The D20HL0G2 proteinwas also tested for binding to IL2RA, and was found to have a Kd of8.3×10⁻⁹ M, similar to that of N88RL9AG1. Thus, SPR binding studiesindicated that both N88RL9AG1 and D20HL0G2 proteins bind to IL2RA,indicating that the proteins are properly folded.

Example 3. Bioactivity of N88RL9AG1 and D20HL0G2 on T Cells.

The bioactivity of N88RL9AG1 and D20HL0G2 on T cells was determined bymeasuring phosphorylated STAT5 (pSTAT5) levels in specific T cellsubsets. Levels of pSTAT5 were measured by flow cytometry in fixed andpermeabilized cells using an antibody to a phosphorylated STAT5 peptide.Treg cells constitutively express CD25, and cells that are in the top 1%of CD25 expression levels are highly enriched for Treg cells (Jailwala,P., et al., 2009, PLoS One. 2009; 4:e6527; Long, S. A., et al., 2010,Diabetes 59:407-15). Therefore, the flow cytometry data was gated intoCD25^(high) (the top 1-2% of CD25 expressing cells) and CD25^(−/low)groups for the Treg and CD4 effector T cell subsets, respectively.

Cryopreserved CD4+ T cells (Astarte Biologics, Seattle, Wash.) weredefrosted, washed in X-VIVO 15 (Lonza, Allendale, N.J.) media containing1% human AB serum (Mediatech, Manassas, Va.) and allowed to recover for2 hours at 37 C. Cells were then distributed in 0.1 ml into 15×75 mmtubes at a concentration of 5×10⁶ cells/ml. Cells were treated withvarying concentrations of IL-2 or Fc fusion proteins for 10 minutes at37 C. Cells were then fixed with Cytofix Fixation Buffer at 37C for 10minutes, permeabilized with Perm Buffer III (BD Biosciences, SantaClara, Calif.) for 30 minutes on ice, and then washed. Cells were thenstained with a mixture of anti-CD4-Pacific Blue (BD Biosciences, SantaClara, Calif.), anti-CD25-AF488 (eBioscience, San Diego, Calif.), andanti-pSTAT5-AF547 (BD Biosciences) antibodies at concentrationsrecommended by the manufacturer for 30 minutes at 20 C, washed, and flowcytometry data acquired on an LSRII instrument (BD Biosciences). Datawas analyzed using Flowjo analysis software (Flowjo, Ashland, Oreg.).

The results with N88RL9AG1 in this assay indicated that compared to IL-2N88RL9AG1 had remarkable selectivity for the Treg population (FIG. 3A).N88RL9AG1 activated less than 1% of CD4+ cells, with very strongselectivity for CD25^(high) cells. In contrast, IL-2 activated over 80%of CD4+ T cells at a concentration of 40 nM, with a high proportion ofthe pSTAT5+ cells expressing low levels or no CD25. Even at 4 pM, thelowest concentration tested, IL-2 still stimulated significant pSTAT5levels in both CD25^(−/low) cells and CD25^(high) cells.

D20HL0G2 was then tested for activity in the CD4+ T cell pSTAT5 assay.Unexpectedly, D20HL0G2 had no activity in this assay (FIG. 3B). Anadditional control with 10⁻⁸ M D20H/IL2 cytokine (the variant IL-2cytokine not fused to Fc) showed robust and selective pSTAT5 activationof CD25^(high) cells (FIG. 3C). The lack of activity with D20HL0G2 wasespecially surprising given that D20HL0G2 bound to IL2RA with a Kdsimilar to that of IL-2 and N88RL9AG1, indicating it was properlyfolded.

To confirm that the CD25^(high) cells selectively activated by N88RL9AG1were Tregs, activated cells were co-stained for both pSTAT5 and FOXP3,another molecular marker for Treg cells. CD4+ cells were treated with 4nM IL-2 or N88RL9AG1, fixed, and permeabilized as described above forpSTAT5 staining, and then were subsequently treated with 1 ml FOXP3 PermBuffer (BioLegend, San Diego, Calif.) for 30 min at room temperature,and then washed and resuspended in FOXP3 Perm Buffer. Permeabilizedcells were stained with a mixture of anti-FOXP3-eFluor450,anti-CD25-AF488 (eBioscience, San Diego, Calif.), and anti-pSTAT5-AF547(BD Biosciences) antibodies for 30 minutes at 20 C, washed, and analyzedby flow cytometry. The results of this experiment indicated that a highproportion of N88RL9AG1-treated cells with activated STATS (pSTAT5+cells) were also expressing high levels of FOXP3. This result providesfurther evidence that the activated cells are highly enriched for Tregcells. In contrast, IL-2 treated pSTAT5+ cells were both FOXP3+ andFOXP3−, with the majority being FOXP3− cells.

Example 4. Determination of Structure-Activity Relationships Importantfor Bioactivity.

The unexpected results described in Example 3 suggested that the IL2bioactivity detected with N88RL9AG1 but not with D20HL0G2 was due to thepresence of a linker peptide. To verify this finding and to eliminatethe contribution of other variables, such as the isotype of the Fcmoiety and the selectivity mutation in the IL-2 moiety, a panel ofanalogs, all using the IgG1 N297A Fc, were designed and produced (TABLEIII).

cDNAs were constructed and proteins expressed and purified as describedin Example 1, except that the C-terminal Lysine residue of the Fc wasdeleted in all constructs and that the production cell cultures were ina volume of 30 ml instead of 100 ml. All proteins were recovered in goodyield. In fact, comparison of the yields of the N88R/IL2 series ofmolecules indicated a clear trend of increasing protein yield withincreasing peptide linker length, with N88RL20AG1 (with the longestpeptide linker) recovery 6.8 fold higher than N88RL0AG1 (with no peptidelinker) (FIG. 5A). The basis for the increased yields of linkerpeptide-containing proteins is not yet clear, but could be due toincreased expression level, increased secretion rate, increased proteinstability, or increased purification efficiency. Interestingly, theyield of WTL15AG1 was only marginally higher (1.8 fold) than that ofWTL0AG1, compared to a 4.5 fold higher yield of N88RL15AG1 compared toN88RL0AG1. D20HL15AG1 yield was similar to N88RL15AG1 yield, indicatingthe IL-2 selectivity mutation has no significant effect on yield, andboth of these proteins had significantly higher yields (4.3 fold and 3.4fold, respectively) than AG1L15D20H (FIG. 5B). Collectively, theseresults indicated that increasing peptide linker length was associatedwith higher protein yield of N88R/IL2 containing Fc fusion proteins,that the yield of Fc fusion proteins containing wt IL-2 was much lesssensitive to the presence of a linker peptide, and IL-2-Fc fusionproteins in the X-Fc configuration are produced

These purified proteins were tested in a human T cell pSTAT5 bioassayessentially as described in Example 3, except that human CD3+ T cells(negatively selected) were used instead of CD4+ cells, and the cellswere incubated with test proteins for 20 min rather than 10 min.

The results from the N88R/IL2 series of molecules showed thatbioactivity in the Treg-enriched population was dramatically influencedby peptide linker length (FIG. 6A). The pSTAT5 signal (% pSTAT5+ cells)in the Treg population increased progressively with increasing peptidelinker length. This increased bioactivity was reflected both in themaximal pSTAT5 signal at 10⁻⁸ M test protein and by the EC50 values(TABLE IV). N88RL20AG1, the protein with the longest peptide linker,showed a 4.2 fold increase in the maximal pSTAT5 signal over N88RL0AG1.Because the N88RL0AG1 pSTAT5 signal did not reach 50% of IL-2 activationat its highest concentration (10⁻⁸ M), it was not possible to determinefold improvement in EC50 of the proteins containing linker peptides overN88RL0AG1. However, based on N88RL20AG1 EC50 and the highestconcentration of N88RL0AG1 tested, it can be estimated that N88RL20AG1will exhibit a >100 fold lower EC50 than N88RL0AG1.

As expected, there was essentially no detectable activity of any of theN88R/IL2 molecules on the CD25^(−/low) population, while 10⁻⁸M IL-2stimulated pSTAT5 activity in 54.2% of the CD25^(−/low) cells (FIG. 6B).

The comparison of WTL0AG1 and WTL15AG1 showed that linker peptides havea much less significant effect on wt IL-2-Fc fusion proteins thanN88R/IL2-Fc fusion proteins (FIG. 7). In the Treg subpopulation, bothWTL0AG1 and WTL15AG1 had significant bioactivity, and in fact stimulatedan approximately 2-fold higher maximum level of pSTAT5 phosphorylationthan IL-2. However, WTL0AG1 and WTL15AG1 also stimulated large pSTAT5signals in CD25^(−/low) cells at an approximately 10 fold higherconcentration. WTL15AG1 and WTL0AG1 exhibited an approximately 10 folddifference in EC50 values in both the Treg and the CD25^(−/low) cellpopulations.

The maximum pSTAT5 signal of D20HL15AG1 in Tregs was significantly lessthan that of N88RL15AG1 (FIG. 8). This suggests that the lack of anydetectable activity in Example 3 with D20HL0G2 was due in part to alower activity of the D20H/IL2 moiety in the context of an Fc fusionprotein compared to the N88R/IL2 moiety. The activity of AG1L15D20H wasslightly higher than that of D20HL15AG1, indicating that theconfiguration of the IL-2 moiety in the Fc fusion protein (ie., X-Fc vsFc-X) did not have a major effect on Treg bioactivity.

Collectively, these results define key features of N88R/IL2-Fc fusionproteins necessary for optimal bioactivity. N88R/IL2-Fc proteins requirea linker peptide for optimal Treg bioactivity, with a trend ofincreasing bioactivity with increasing linker peptide length. Second, inline with the work of others, linker peptides have a more modest effecton the bioactivity of Fc fusion proteins containing wt IL-2. Thesediffering requirements for a linker peptide may a consequence of thefact that N88R/IL2 is deficient in binding to IL2RB, which couldpossibly result in more stringent requirements for receptor engagementand increasing the sensitivity to steric hinderance from the Fc fusionprotein partner. These results also define the most potent IL2 SelectiveAgonist-Fc fusion proteins.

Example 5. Selectivity of IL2 Selective Agonist-Fc Fusion Proteins inHuman PBMC

To determine the selectivity of N88R/IL2-Fc fusion proteins in a broaderbiological context, an assay was developed to measure STAT5 activationacross all key immune cell types in crude unfractionated human PBMC.Human PBMC were isolated by Ficoll-Hypaque centrifugation from a normalvolunteer. 10⁶ PBMC were suspended in X-VIVO15 media with glucose(Lonza) and 10% FBS (Omega), and were treated with 10⁻⁸M test proteinsfor 20 min at 37° C. Cells were then treated with Foxp3/TranscriptionFactor Staining Buffer Set (EBIO) according to the manufacturer'sinstructions. Cells were then fixed with Cytofix buffer andpermeabilized with Perm Buffer III as described in Example 3. Fixed andpermeabilized cells were then washed with 1% FBS/PBS and stained withantibody mixture for 60 minutes at room temperature in the dark. Stainedcells were then washed in 1% FBS/PBS, resuspended in PBS, and analyzedon a Fortessa flow cytometer (BD Biosciences). The antibody mixconsisted of: anti-CD4-PerCP-Cy5.5 (BD, #560650), anti-pSTAT5-AF-488(BD, #612598), anti-CD25-PE (BD, #560989), anti-CD56-PE-CF594 (BD,#562328), anti-FOXP3-AF647 (BD, #560889), anti-CD3-V450 (BD, 560366),and anti-CD8-BV650 (Biolegend, #301041). This staining procedure enabledmonitoring of pSTAT5 levels in 7 key immune cells types.

Cell phenotypes were defined as follows: Treg cells: CD3+, CD4+, Foxp3+,CD25^(high), CD8−, CD56−; activated CD4 Teff cells: CD3+, CD4+, Foxp3−,CD25 ^(high), CD8−, CD56−; CD4 Teff cells: CD3+, CD4+, Foxp3−,CD25^(low), CD8−, CD56−; NKT cells: CD3+, CD4−, Foxp3−, CD25^(low),CD8−, CD56+; NK cells: CD3−, CD4−, Foxp3−, CD25^(low), CD8−, CD56+; Bcells: CD3−, CD4−, Foxp3−, CD25^(low), CD8−, CD56−.

Proteins were tested in this assay at a concentration of 10⁻⁸M. Theresults, shown in FIG. 9 and summarized in TABLE V, show that N88RL15AG1exhibited remarkable selectivity compared to wt IL2 and WTL15AG1, bothof which activated pSTAT5 in large fractions of all the cellpopulations. N88RL15AG1 stimulated pSTAT5 signal in the Treg populationat close to the level of wt IL-2, with insignificant activation of theother cell types with the exception of NK cells. Additional analysis(not shown) showed that the pSTAT5+ NK cells were CD25^(high), which ischaracteristic of NK-CD56^(bright) cells, an NK cell subpopulation whichalso has immunoregulatory activity (Poli, A, et al., 2009Immunology.126(4):458-65). Several cell types that had low-level pSTAT5signals with N88R/IL2 (activated CD4 Teff cells, CD4 Teff cells, NK Tcells, and NK cells) exhibited no or lower pSTAT5 signals withN88RL15AG1. These results demonstrate the activity and high selectivityof N88RL15AG1 for Tregs in a complex biological milieu.

Example 6. Exploration of Additional Structure-Function RelationshipsImportant for Bioactivity.

The results presented in Example 5 indicated a strong requirement for alinker peptide of between 6 and 20 amino acids in length for robustbioactivity of N88R/IL-2-Fc fusion proteins, with increasing linkerpeptide length associated with increasing bioactivity. To determine ifeven longer linker peptides promote increased bioactivity, additionalprotein constructs with peptide linker lengths of 25 and 30 amino acidswere prepared as described in Example 1, and tested in the T cell pSTAT5bioactivity assay as described in Example 3 along with independentpreparations of N88RL15AG1 and N88RL20AG1. The results of thisexperiment showed that increasing the peptide linker to 25 (N88RL25AG1)or 30 (N88RL30AG1) amino acids did not result in greater bioactivity onCD25hi cells than the protein with a 20 amino acid linker (Table VII).These results, along the the results presented in Example 4, indicatethat the ability of peptide linkers to promote IL-2 bioactivity plateausat a length of 15-20 amino acids, and that longer linker peptides do notpromote further increases in bioactivity.

Alternative Fc fusion partners that could increase circulating half-lifeand that are deficient in Fc effector functions were assessed. IgG1 Fcwith the mutations E233P/L234A/L235A/G236del (SEQ ID NO.22), IgG2 Fc(SEQ ID NO.23), and IgG4 Fc with the hinge mutation S228P whichstabilizes the Fc dimer (SEQ ID NO.24) were similarly prepared andtested. Furthermore, fusion proteins in which IL2/N88R was fused tohuman albumin, either to the N-terminus (N88RL15HSA, SEQ ID NO.25) orthe C-terminus (HSAL15N88R, SEQ ID NO.26) of human albumin were preparedand tested. Although all proteins were bioactive on CD25hi cells, noneof these fusion proteins exhibited bioactivity greater than thatobserved for N88RL15AG1 (Table VIII).

The effect of different IL-2 selectivity mutations was examined on thebackbone of the IgG1 N297A Fc fusion (Table IX). Proteins with theselectivity mutations N88G and Q126F had less bioactivity on CD25hicells than N88R at 10-8M, the highest concentration tested, whileexhibiting no bioactivity on CD25−/low cells (data not shown). Theprotein with the substitution N88I had no activity on either cell type.This may indicate that the original report of selective agonist activityfor this variant was erroneous, or alternatively it may indicate that itis not active within the context of an Fc fusion protein. Proteins withthe substitution Q126L had greater bioactivity than N88R, as reflectedby a greater pSTAT5 response at the highest concentration tests onCD25hi cells, although this was accompanied by a modest increase inactivation of CD25−/low expressing cells at the 10-8 M (data not shown).These results suggest that Q126L/IL2 is a more potent selective agonist,with higher bioactivity on both CD25hi and CD25−/low cells.

Finally, the impact of eliminating the O-linked glycosylation site atThreonine 3 of the IL2/N88R moiety was assessed by preparing the variantN88RT3AL15AG1. The O-linked glycosylation site in IL-2 is not requiredfor bioactivity (Robb, R. J., et al., 1984, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.81:6486-90), and eliminating this glycosylation site should result in acompletely aglycosylated protein, which would possess fewerpost-translational modifications contributing to product heterogeneity.The variant N88RT3AL15AG1 was prepared and tested, and shown to havebioactivity on CD25hi cells similar to that of N88RL15AG1 (Table IX).

TABLES

TABLE I TABLE I. US FDA-approved Fc fusion proteins and theircharacteristics N vs C Linker Half-life DRUG Fc Isotype Fusion Partnerfusion Peptide (days) Romiplostim G1 TPO-R peptide C Y 3.5 Etanercept G1P75 TNFa-R N N 4.3 Alefacept G1 LFA3 N N 10.1 Rilonacept G1 IL1-R N N8.6 Abatacept G1 CTLA4 N N 16.7 Belatacept G1 CTLA4 (mut) N N 9.8Aflibercept G1 VEGF R1 + R2 N N n/a Dulaglutide G4 (mut) GLP1 N Y 3.7Eloctate G1 FVIII N N 0.8 Alprolix G1 FIX N N 3.6

TABLE II Table II. Affinity of IL-2 Fc fusion proteins for IL2RA andIL2RB subunits Ligand Analyte Method k_(on) k_(off) K_(d) (M) IL2RA IL-2Kinetic 5.85 × 10⁶ 8.4 × 10⁻² 1.44 × 10⁻⁸ N88RL9AG1 Kinetic 1.78 × 10⁶1.0 × 10⁻² 5.63 × 10⁻⁹ D20HL0G2 Kinetic 1.66 × 10⁷ 0.137 8.30 × 10⁻⁹IL-2 Equi- — — 1.47 × 10⁻⁸ librium N88RL9AG1 Equi- — — 9.36 × 10⁻⁹librium IL2RB IL-2 Kinetic 5.10 × 10⁵ 3.0 × 10⁻¹ 5.87 × 10⁻⁷ N88RL9AG1Kinetic nd nd — IL-2 Equi- — — 2.53 × 10⁻⁷ librium N88RL9AG1 Equi- — —7.60 × 10⁻² librium nd: binding not detected

TABLE III Peptide Protein IL2 Linker Configuration SEQ ID # N88RL0AG1N88R 0 X-Fc 6 N88RL5AG1 N88R 5 X-Fc 7 N88RL10AG1 N88R 10 X-Fc 8N88RL15AG1 N88R 15 X-Fc 9 N88RL20AG1 N88R 20 X-Fc 10 WTL0AG1 wt 0 X-Fc11 WTL15AG1 wt 15 X-Fc 12 D20HL15AG1 D20H 15 X-Fc 13 AG1L15D20H D20H 15Fc-X 14

TABLE IV Fold increase in Maximal pSTAT5 maximal pSTAT5 Protein EC50response at 10−8M response N88RL0AG1 >10⁻⁸ 0.33 1.0 N88RL5AG1 >10⁻⁸ 0.521.6 N88RL9AG1 7 × 10⁻¹⁰ 0.96 2.9 N88RL10AG1 9 × 10⁻¹⁰ 0.90 2.7N88RL15AG1 4 × 10⁻¹⁰ 1.22 3.7 N88RL20AG1 1 × 10⁻¹⁰ 1.40 4.2

TABLE V Control IL-2 WTL15AG1 N88R/IL2 N88RL15AG1 Treg cells 0.8 99.999.8 99.9 75.1 Activated 0.1 70.5 65.2 3.7 0.1 CD4 Teff cells CD4 Teff0.2 60.9 40.0 2.4 0.5 cells CD8 Teff 0.1 90.2 35.4 2.3 0.1 cells NKTcells 0.5 74.9 60.5 20.5 5.2 NK cells 0.3 96.8 96.1 49.9 19.3 B cells0.1 20.9 10.6 0.2 0.1 Percentage of pSTAT5+ cells in 7 immune cellstypes in human PBMC. Cells were treated with proteins indicated in thecolumn headings and analyzed as described in Example 6.

TABLE VI Peptide Linker SEQ Protein IL2 (aa) Fusion Partner ID #N88RL25AG1 N88R 25 IgG1 Fc N297A 20 N88RL30AG1 N88R 30 IgG1 Fc N297A 21N88RL15G1ED N88R 15 IgG1 Fc 22 N88RL15G2 N88R 15 IgG2 Fc 23 N88RL15G4N88R(S228P) 15 IgG4 Fc 24 N88RL15HSA wt 15 HSA 25 HSAL15N88R wt 15 HSA26 N88IL15AG1 N88I 15 IgG1 Fc N297A 27 N88GL15AG1 N88G 15 IgG1 Fc N297A28 Q126FL15AG1 Q126F 15 IgG1 Fc N297A 29 Q126LL15AG1 Q126L 15 IgG1 FcN297A 30 N88RT3AL15AG1 N88R, T3A 15 IgG1 Fc N297A 31

TABLE VII Maximal pSTAT5 pSTAT5 response response at 10⁻⁸M at 10⁻⁸M (%of wt Protein EC50 (% pSTAT5+ cells) IL-2 response) N88RL15AG1 13.0 ×10⁻¹⁰ 1.12 73 N88RL20AG1  9.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ 1.18 77 N88RL25AG1 29.7 × 10⁻¹⁰1.10 71 N88RL30AG1  8.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ 1.18 77

TABLE VIII pSTAT5 response Maximal pSTAT5 at 10⁻⁸M response at 10⁻⁸M (%of wt Protein EC50 (% pSTAT5+ cells) IL-2 response) N88RL15G1ED 5.2 ×10⁻⁹ 0.90 58 N88RL15G2 — 0.71 46 N88RL15G4(S228P) 6.9 × 10⁻⁹ 0.77 50N88RL15HSA — 0.32 21 HSAL15N88R — 0.68 44

TABLE IX pSTAT5 response Maximal pSTAT5 at 10⁻⁸M response at 10⁻⁸M (% ofwt Protein EC50 (% pSTAT5+ cells) IL-2 response) N88IL15AG1 — 0.00 0N88GL15AG1 8.1 × 10⁻¹⁰ 0.81 53 Q126FL15AG1 9.1 × 10⁻¹⁰ 0.75 49Q126LL15AG1 9.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ 1.66 108 N88RT3AL15AG1 1.9 × 10⁻⁹  0.97 63

SEQUENCE LISTINGS  SEQ ID NO. 1  >human IL-2(N88R) APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFCQSIISTLT SEQ ID NO. 2  >human IgG1(N297A) Fc DKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQ YASTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSP GK  SEQ ID NO. 3  >human IgG2 Fc VECPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQFNST FRVVSVLTVVHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPAPIEKTISKTKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYP SDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPMLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK* SEQ ID NO. 4  >N88RL9AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGAGGGGDKTHTCPP CPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYASTYRVV SVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIA VEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK* SEQ ID NO. 5  >D20HL0G2 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLHLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTVECPPCPAPPVAGPSVF LFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQFNSTFRVVSVLTVVHQDWLNG KEYKCKVSNKGLPAPIEKTISKTKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNY KTTPPMLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK* SEQ ID NO. 6  >N88RL0AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGG PSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYASTYRVVSVLTVLHQD WLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQP ENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 7  >N88RL5AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSDKTHTCPPCPAP ELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYASTYRVVSVLT VLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWE SNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 8  >N88RL10AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSDKTHTCP PCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYASTYRV VSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDI AVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 9  >N88RL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 10  >N88RL20AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGG GGSDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPR EEQYASTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTC LVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLS LSPG*  SEQ ID NO. 11  >WTL0AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGG PSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYASTYRVVSVLTVLHQD WLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQP ENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 12  >WTL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 13  >D20HL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLHLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 14  >AG1L15D20H DKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQ YASTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSP GGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSAPTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLHLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCL EEELKPLEEVLNLAQSKNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLT* SEQ ID NO. 15  >L9  GGGGAGGGG  SEQ ID NO. 16  >L5  GGGGS SEQ ID NO. 17  >L10  GGGGSGGGGS  SEQ ID NO. 18  >L15  GGGGSGGGGSGGGGS SEQ ID NO. 19  >L20  GGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS  SEQ ID NO. 20  >N88RL25AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGG GGSGGGGSDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNA KTKPREEQYASTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQ VSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYT QKSLSLSPG*  SEQ ID NO. 21  >N88RL30AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGG GGSGGGGSGGGGSDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGV EVHNAKTKPREEQYASTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDE LTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEAL HNHYTQKSLSLSPG*  SEQ ID NO. 22  >N88RL3G1ED(E233P/L234A/L235A/G238del) APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPPAAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDV SHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKG QPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSR WQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG*  SEQ ID NO. 23  >N88RL3G2 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSVE CPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQFNSTFR VVSVLTVVHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPAPIEKTISKTKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSD ISVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPMLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 24  >N88RL3G4 (S228P) APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSES KYGPPCPPCPAPEFLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSQEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQ FNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSQEEMTKNQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSRLTVDKSRWQEGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSL G*  SEQ ID NO. 25  >N88RL15HSA APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDA HKSEVAHRFKDLGEENFKALVLIAFAQYLQQCPFEDHVKLVNEVTEFAKTCVADESAENCDKSLHTLFGDKLCTV ATLRETYGEMADCCAKQEPERNECFLQHKDDNPNLPRLVRPEVDVMCTAFHDNEETFLKKYLYEIARRHPYFYAP ELLFFAKRYKAAFTECCQAADKAACLLPKLDELRDEGKASSAKQRLKCASLQKFGERAFKAWAVARLSQRFPKAE FAEVSKLVTDLTKVHTECCHGDLLECADDRADLAKYICENQDSISSKLKECCEKPLLEKSHCIAEVENDEMPADL PSLAADFVESKDVCKNYAEAKDVFLGMFLYEYARRHPDYSVVLLLRLAKTYETTLEKCCAAADPHECYAKVFDEF KPLVEEPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGEYKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLGKVGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAEDY LSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESLVNRRPCFSALEVDETYVPKEFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQT ALVELVKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDDFAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVAASQAALGL* SEQ ID NO. 28  >HSAL15N88R DAHKSEVAHRFKDLGEENFKALVLIAFAQYLQQCPFEDHVKLVNEVTEFAKTCVADESAENCDKSLHTLFGDKLC TVATLRETYGEMADCCAKQEPERNECFLQHKDDNPNLPRLVRPEVDVMCTAFHDNEETFLKKYLYEIARRHPYFY APELLFFAKRYKAAFTECCQAADKAACLLPKLDELRDEGKASSAKQRLKCASLQKFGERAFKAWAVARLSQRFPK AEFAEVSKLVTDLTKVHTECCHGDLLECADDRADLAKYICENQDSISSKLKECCEKPLLEKSHCIAEVENDEMPA DLPSLAADFVESKDVCKNYAEAKDVFLGMFLYEYARRHPDYSVVLLLRLAKTYETTLEKCCAAADPHECYAKVFD EFKPLVEEPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGEYKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLGKVGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAE DYLSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESLVNRRPCFSALEVDETYVPKEFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKK QTALVELVKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDDFAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVAASQAALGLGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLT* SEQ ID NO. 27  >N88IL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISIINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 28  >N88GL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISGINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 29  >Q126FL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSFSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 30  >Q126LL15AG1 APTSSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISNINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSLSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* SEQ ID NO. 31  >N88RT3AL15AG1 APASSSTKKTQLQLEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTRMLTFKFYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEELKPLEEVLNLAQS KNFHLRPRDLISRINVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETATIVEFLNRWITFSQSIISTLTGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSDK THTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYA STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGF YPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG* 

1. A fusion protein comprising: a. a human IL-2 variant protein domain;b. a peptide linker domain; and c. an IgG Fc protein domain, whereineach domain has an amino-terminus (N-terminus) and a carboxy terminus(C-terminus); and wherein the fusion protein is configured so that theC-terminus of the human IL-2 variant protein domain is fused through apeptide bond to the N-terminus of the peptide linker domain, and theN-terminus of the IgG Fc protein domain is fused through a peptide bondto the C-terminus of the peptide linker domain.
 2. The fusion protein ofclaim 1, wherein: a. the human IL-2 variant protein domain compriseshuman IL-2 with a substitution selected from the group consisting of:T3A, N88R, N88G, D20H, C125S, Q126L, and Q126F, relative to the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; b. the peptide linker domain comprises anamino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 15,SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18 and SEQ ID NO: 19; and c.the IgG Fc protein domain comprises an amino acid sequence selected fromthe group consisting of the human IgG1 Fc variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, thehuman IgG2 Fc of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the human IgG4 Fc protein of SEQ IDNO:
 24. 3. The fusion protein of claim 1, wherein the human IL-2 variantprotein domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 4. Thefusion protein of claim 1, wherein the IgG Fc protein domain comprisesan IgG1 Fc protein comprising an N297A mutation relative to the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 5. The fusion protein of claim 1, whereinthe fusion protein comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 9. 6.A nucleic acid encoding a fusion protein comprising: a. a human IL-2variant protein domain; b. a peptide linker domain; and c. an IgG Fcprotein domain, wherein each domain has an amino-terminus (N-terminus)and a carboxy terminus (C-terminus); and wherein the fusion protein isconfigured so that the C-terminus of the human IL-2 variant proteindomain is fused through a peptide bond to the N-terminus of the peptidelinker domain, and the N-terminus of the IgG Fc protein domain is fusedthrough a peptide bond to the C-terminus of the peptide linker domain.7. A dimeric protein comprising two identical chains, wherein each chaincomprises a fusion protein comprising: a. a human IL-2 variant proteindomain; b. a peptide linker domain; and c. an IgG Fc protein domain,wherein each domain has an amino-terminus (N-terminus) and a carboxyterminus (C-terminus); and wherein the fusion protein is configured sothat the C-terminus of the human IL-2 variant protein domain is fusedthrough a peptide bond to the N-terminus of the peptide linker domain,and the N-terminus of the IgG Fc protein domain is fused through apeptide bond to the C-terminus of the peptide linker domain.
 8. Thedimeric protein of claim 7, wherein: i) the human IL-2 variant proteindomain comprises at least one mutation selected from the groupconsisting of: T3A, N88R, N88G, D20H, C125S, Q126L, and Q126F relativeto the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; ii) the IgG Fc proteindomain a. comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of the human IgG1 Fc variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, the human IgG2Fc of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the human IgG4 Fc protein of SEQ ID NO: 24; andb. comprises cysteine residues, and iii) the two identical chains arelinked to each other through the cysteine residues of the IgG Fc proteindomain.
 9. The dimeric protein of claim 7, wherein each chain is SEQ IDNO:
 9. 10. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a fusion proteincomprising: a. a human IL-2 variant protein domain; b. a peptide linkerdomain; and c. an IgG Fc protein domain, wherein each domain has anamino-terminus (N-terminus) and a carboxy terminus (C-terminus); andwherein the fusion protein is configured so that the C-terminus of thehuman IL-2 variant protein domain is fused through a peptide bond to theN-terminus of the peptide linker domain, and the N-terminus of the IgGFc protein domain is fused through a peptide bond to the C-terminus ofthe peptide linker domain.
 11. The pharmaceutical composition of claim10, wherein: a. the human IL-2 variant protein domain comprises humanIL-2 with a substitution selected from the group consisting of: T3A,N88R, N88G, D20H, C125S, Q126L, and Q126F, relative to the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; b. the peptide linker domain comprises anamino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 15,SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18 and SEQ ID NO: 19; and c.the IgG Fc protein domain comprises an amino acid sequence selected fromthe group consisting of the human IgG1 Fc variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, thehuman IgG2 Fc of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the human IgG4 Fc protein of SEQ IDNO:
 24. 12. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 10, wherein thehuman IL-2 variant protein domain comprises the amino acid sequence ofSEQ ID NO:
 1. 13. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 10, whereinthe IgG Fc protein domain comprises an IgG1 immunoglobulin Fc proteincomprising an N297A mutation relative to the amino acid sequence of SEQID NO:
 2. 14. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 10, wherein thefusion protein comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 9. 15. Amethod for treating an autoimmune disease, the method comprisingadministering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutically-effectiveamount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a fusion proteincomprising: a. a human IL-2 variant protein domain; b. a peptide linkerdomain; and c. an IgG Fc protein domain, wherein each domain has anamino-terminus (N-terminus) and a carboxy terminus (C-terminus); andwherein the fusion protein is configured so that the C-terminus of thehuman IL-2 variant protein domain is fused through a peptide bond to theN-terminus of the peptide linker domain, and the N-terminus of the IgGFc protein domain is fused through a peptide bond to the C-terminus ofthe peptide linker domain.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein theautoimmune disease is selected from the group consisting of: Type 1diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, graft-versus-host disease, andautoimmune vasculitis, pemphigus vulgaris, scleroderma, ulcerativecolitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophiclateral sclerosis, alopecia areata, uveitis, neuromyelitis optica, andDuchenne muscular dystrophy.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein: a. thehuman IL-2 variant protein domain comprises human IL-2 with asubstitution selected from the group consisting of: T3A, N88R, N88G,D20H, C125S, Q126L, and Q126F, relative to the amino acid sequence ofSEQ ID NO: 1; b. the peptide linker domain comprises an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO:16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18 and SEQ ID NO: 19; and c. the IgG Fcprotein domain comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of the human IgG1 Fc variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, the human IgG2Fc of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the human IgG4 Fc protein of SEQ ID NO:
 24. 18.The method of claim 15, wherein the fusion protein comprises SEQ ID NO:9.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the pharmaceutical compositioncomprises a dimeric protein comprising two identical chains, whereineach chain comprises a fusion protein comprising: a. a human IL-2variant protein domain; b. a peptide linker domain; and c. an IgG Fcprotein domain, wherein each domain has an amino-terminus (N-terminus)and a carboxy terminus (C-terminus); and wherein the fusion protein isconfigured so that the C-terminus of the human IL-2 variant proteindomain is fused through a peptide bond to the N-terminus of the peptidelinker domain, and the N-terminus of the IgG Fc protein domain is fusedthrough a peptide bond to the C-terminus of the peptide linker domain.20. The method of claim 19, wherein each chain comprises the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:
 9. 21. A method of selectively activating humanregulatory T cells, the method comprising administering a pharmaceuticalcomposition comprising a fusion protein comprising: a. a human IL-2variant protein domain; b. a peptide linker domain; and c. an IgG Fcprotein domain, wherein each domain has an amino-terminus (N-terminus)and a carboxy terminus (C-terminus); and wherein the fusion protein isconfigured so that the C-terminus of the human IL-2 variant proteindomain is fused through a peptide bond to the N-terminus of the peptidelinker domain, and the N-terminus of the IgG Fc protein domain is fusedthrough a peptide bond to the C-terminus of the peptide linker domain,wherein said pharmaceutical composition is administered at atherapeutically effective dose until human regulatory T cellconcentrations reach desired levels.
 22. The method of claim 21,wherein: a. the human IL-2 variant protein domain comprises human IL-2with a substitution selected from the group consisting of: T3A, N88R,N88G, D20H, C125S, Q126L, and Q126F, relative to the amino acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO: 1; b. the peptide linker domain comprises an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO:16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18 and SEQ ID NO: 19; and c. the IgG Fcprotein domain comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of the human IgG1 Fc variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, the human IgG2Fc of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the human IgG4 Fc protein of SEQ ID NO:
 24. 23.A method of measuring the number of regulatory T cells in a human bloodsample comprising contacting human blood cells with the fusion proteinof claim 1 at a concentration of between 1 nM and 0.01 nM, and thendetecting cells that bind to the protein by flow cytometry.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, wherein: a. the human IL-2 variant protein domaincomprises human IL-2 with a substitution selected from the groupconsisting of: T3A, N88R, N88G, D20H, C125S, Q126L, and Q126F, relativeto the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; b. the peptide linker domaincomprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting ofSEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18 and SEQ IDNO: 19; and c. the IgG Fc protein domain comprises an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of the human IgG1 Fc variantof SEQ ID NO: 2, the human IgG2 Fc of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the human IgG4Fc protein of SEQ ID NO: 24.